Saskatchewan man ordered extradited for university hacking scheme
Ryan James Roach faces U.S. charges for allegedly hacking supercomputers at New York universities to mine cryptocurrency.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
A Saskatchewan man has been ordered extradited to the United States to face charges related to hacking into university supercomputers to mine cryptocurrency.
Ryan James Roach was ordered for extradition by a King's Bench judge after prosecutors convinced the court there was enough evidence to meet Canada's extradition threshold. The following day, Alberta's Court of Appeal granted him interim release pending the federal justice minister's final decision — a decision that must come within 90 days.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Roach and another Canadian man conspired in 2017 to breach at least one New York state educational institution, steal more than 1,900 login credentials, install malware, and use the institution's supercomputer to mine a cryptocurrency called Electroneum. The breach cost the institution roughly $337,000 US in damages — the cost of shutting down systems, conducting forensic analysis, and rebuilding compromised infrastructure.
The FBI traced a digital trail linking the alleged hack to Roach through IP addresses, server logs, email accounts, and hosting records. Judge Grant Currie found the evidence sufficient for a jury to reasonably conclude Roach conspired to commit unauthorized use of a computer, an offence carrying up to 10 years in prison in Canada.
Currie noted defence arguments that Roach may have been unaware of his alleged co-conspirator Mathiew James Stubbings's attack plans, pointing to search timing that suggested Roach was learning what happened, not planning it. However, the judge found the relationship between the two men, Roach's payment for servers, and Stubbings referring to Roach as his "partner" supported an inference of agreement.
Roach's lawyer, Patricia Farnese, says he will not appeal the committal order, accepting the judge's decision as part of due process. She has made submissions to the federal justice minister, who now holds final authority on whether Roach will be surrendered to the U.S. After the minister decides, Roach will have another right to appeal.