DataBreaches.net continues to monitor the court docket in the case of Nathan Wyatt, aka “Crafty Cockney,” an alleged member of thedarkoverlord. As I’ve reported previously, Wyatt, a U.K. citizen who was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial here, is not charged with actually hacking any of the victim entities in a case filed in the Eastern District of Missouri. He is charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of threats to damage protected computers.
Not surprisingly, the court has given both the government and defense more time because Wyatt’s case is considered a “complex case.”
To give you an idea of how complex this case is, a government motion for findings of fact and a proposed scheduling order was filed on January 6, 2020. That motion states, in part:
Evidence and materials collected during the course of the investigation are voluminous in that the investigation took place over a number of years and involved a multiple Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Offices as well as evidence obtained from foreign countries through the use of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. A number of different law enforcement agencies from multiple foreign countries have played a role in this investigation. Discovery in this matter will likely be a lengthy and on-going process. Discovery in the case includes hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, records obtained by grand jury subpoenas, search warrants, court orders, pen registers, and mutual legal assistance treaty requests. Additionally, the investigation involved the seizure and forensic examination of several electronic devices. Much of the material obtained contains sensitive medical records and other personally identifying information of victims. Discoverable materials include, but are not limited to: (a) court-authorized search warrants, (b) court-authorized orders issued pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 2703(d), (c) court-authorized orders issued pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 3121, (d) documents and records containing sensitive information provided by victims, (e) mutual legal assistance treaty requests, (f) reports and memoranda related to multiple law enforcement agencies and interviews, and (g) forensically examined electronic devices.
That’s a lot of data and evidence to sift through and process.
Wyatt’s defense counsel joined the government in the request to have this declared a complex case and to allow more time for discovery in the interests of justice. The court issued the order, as well as a protective order that limits the distribution of materials shared with the defense during discovery. The protective order does not impact court records that are public records, but will impact materials that might include personally identifiable information, protected health information, or other sensitive information.
The next court date is February 21 and is an attorneys-only conference to update the court on discovery progress.