NewsPublished 4 Nov 2026

Canadian Extradited to US Over Cryptomining Hacks on University Supercomputers

Source SecurityWeek

Description

Two Canadian men were indicted for hijacking university supercomputers in the US to mine Electroneum cryptocurrency from 2016 to 2019. They used compromised machines as pivot points and multi-country VPN infrastructure to conceal their activities. The campaign targeted academic institutions in multiple US states and involved malware deployment and credential theft. One suspect has been extradited to the US, while proceedings continue for the other.

Impact

The unauthorized use of university supercomputers for cryptocurrency mining resulted in resource hijacking and potential damage to protected computer systems. The campaign involved theft of login credentials and deployment of malware, which could have compromised the integrity and availability of academic computing resources. The legal consequences for the perpetrators include up to 10 years imprisonment and fines per count if convicted.

Defensive guidance

No specific mitigation actions are provided or required for defenders in this report, as it describes a past criminal campaign and ongoing prosecution. Organizations should ensure robust access controls, monitor for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining activities, and secure supercomputing resources against unauthorized access to prevent similar incidents.

Summary

A federal grand jury indicted Ryan James Roach and Mathiew James Stubbings for a multi-year campaign involving unauthorized access to university supercomputers in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The threat actors used sophisticated techniques to compromise systems from June 2016 through December 2019, deploying malware and mining software to secretly mine Electroneum cryptocurrency. They established multi-country VPN infrastructure with fraudulent identities to manage the operation and used compromised supercomputers as pivot points to hide their origin. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to obtain information and cause damage to protected computers, obtaining information from protected computers, and intentional computer damage. Roach was extradited to the US, while extradition of Stubbings is ongoing.

References

securityweek.com/canadian-extradited-to-us-over-cryptomining-hacks-on-university-supercomputers/ (opens in a new tab)

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AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2026, 12:43 UTC

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