Ontario man accused of stealing Texas Republican Party data pleads guilty

Aubrey Cottle, an Ontario man accused of hacking the Texas Republican Party's website and leaking data in 2021, has pleaded guilty in a Canadian court. Cottle's lawyers, Arash Ghiassi and Riaz Sayani, announced that their client has "formally accepted his role" in the cyberattack.

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formally accepted his role

Cottle pleaded guilty in a Newmarket, Ontario, courthouse to charges including unauthorized use of a computer, mischief to computer data, and failure to comply with a release order. U.S. authorities had previously announced Cottle's arrest in April of last year, alleging he gained unauthorized access to the party's server, defaced its website, and downloaded a backup of its data, which included personal information. The U.S. Department of Justice also alleged Cottle claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.

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unauthorized use of a computer, mischief to computer data, and failure to comply with a release order

Cottle's legal team emphasized that he is also facing charges from U.S. federal prosecutors for the same incident. They argue that fairness dictates these charges should be withdrawn, stating, "No one should be prosecuted or punished twice for the same conduct." Furthermore, they urged the Canadian government to refuse any extradition request, asserting that Ottawa should "protect the integrity" of Canada's legal system by not extraditing Cottle.

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gained unauthorized access to “deface and download a backup of Texas Republican Party’s server” and made the data, which included personal information, available online for downloading.