Man with Instagram handle ‘ihackedthegovernment’ pleads guilty to hacking the government

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A man admitted to hacking into several US government computer systems. He had previously boasted about the attacks on Instagram under the username “ihackedthegovernment.”

Nicholas Moore, 24, confessed in court to hacking into computer systems belonging to the US Supreme Court, AmeriCorps, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prosecutors said that in 2023, he repeatedly gained unauthorized access using stolen login credentials, and sometimes visited the systems more than once on the same day.

The situation gained rapid attention because Moore chose to publicly reveal the security flaws. He used the Instagram account “ihackedthegovernment” to post screenshots and private details of those affected, even including information from a veteran’s medical records.

According to court documents, Moore repeatedly accessed the US Supreme Court’s online filing system – at least 25 times in two months. He also illegally gained access to accounts at AmeriCorps and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ MyHealtheVet, and in each case, private information was exposed.

Man called ‘ihackedthegovernment’ gets probation after apologizing for hacking

Moore eventually admitted guilt to a minor computer fraud offense. This crime could result in a prison sentence of up to a year and a fine of as much as $100,000.

Instead of seeking a jail sentence, prosecutors allowed Moore to receive a year of probation. He admitted to the judge that he’d made an error and offered a sincere apology for what he had done.

“I am truly sorry. I respect laws, and I want to be a good citizen,” he said.

A recommendation considered Moore’s situation and how likely he was to reoffend.

Moore is a young man facing significant challenges, including long-term disabilities, limited income, and a lack of job experience. However, authorities don’t believe he poses a threat to public safety, and at 25, he has plenty of time to change his path.

The government also pointed out that Moore didn’t misuse the information or profit from it in any way.

According to sources, he browsed several pages on the websites he hacked and then bragged about it online. It appears Moore wasn’t motivated by financial profit, but rather by a desire to impress people he knew online.

During the sentencing, US District Judge Beryl Howell noted that Moore seems to have a surprising ability to access government systems, and suggested this skill could potentially be used for good in the future.

Although they didn’t go to jail, this situation shows how dangerous it is to have weak passwords and how common it’s becoming for hackers to share information about vulnerabilities online.

This month has already seen another significant hacking incident. Earlier in April, a single hacker used readily available AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT to access nine Mexican government agencies and reportedly steal data from hundreds of millions of citizens.

In April, Rockstar Games suffered a hacking incident where private files were stolen. While there were concerns that details about the upcoming GTA 6 would be leaked, most of the released information turned out to be sales numbers for their popular game, GTA Online.

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2026-04-21 00:19