CyberOps

CHICAGO — An information technology specialist has been indicted on a federal criminal charge for allegedly hacking into the server of a suburban Chicago health care company where he formerly worked as a contractor.

AARON LOCKNER illegally accessed the server of the health care company, which operated a clinic in Oak Lawn, Ill., on April 16, 2018, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The cyber intrusion impaired medical examinations, treatment, and care of multiple individuals, the indictment states. Lockner had previously performed information security and technology work for the health care company and had access to its computer network, the indictment alleges. Two months before the cyber attack, Lockner sought and was denied an employment position with the health care company, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Lockner, 35, of Downers Grove, Ill., with one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney A.J. Dixon.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The charge in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines