Capital One breach suspects threatened to & # 39; shoot up & # 39; California social media companies, the feds say

Prosecutors say the Seattle software engineer arrested for hacking Capital One repeatedly boasted of the hacking and has threatened to "shoot up" a California media company.

Paige Thompson, 33, a former Amazon employee, was captured by authorities after leaving a comprehensive digital footprint of her alleged crime on the Internet, including boasting about it in online posts, authorities said. She is now charged with a count of computer fraud and abuse.

ALLEGED SEATTLE HACKER ARRESTED IN CAPITAL ONE BREACH, BOASTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA: REPORT

On Monday, Capital One – who according to an FBI complaint also goes from dealing with "erratic" ̵[ads1]1; received information including credit score and balance plus social security number to about 140,000 customers, the bank said.

is parked outside the home of Paige A. Thompson, who uses the "erratic" online handle Wednesday, July 31, 2019, in Seattle. (Associated Press)

The fracture affected a total of about 100 million people in the United States and 6 million in Canada. The bank will offer free credit monitoring services to those affected.

The prosecutors claim that Thompson knew she could soon be caught. More than six weeks before her Monday arrest, she discussed the alleged hack online with friends in conversation and in a group she created on the Slack platform.

Friends and colleagues told the Associated Press that while Thompson was a skilled programmer, she struggled to gain a foothold and thought the alleged hack could give her fame, fame, and even a new job.

She also suffered from depression and said online that her transition to a woman since she was 22 has contributed to her mental health problems.

"She had a habit of openly struggling with state of mind in public channels," said Aife Dunne, an online friend. "That's where her screen name comes from."

CAPITAL A DATA BREAK EXPANDS INFO OF 106M CUSTOMERS, APPLICATIONS; SUSPECT ARRESTED

Thompson recently worked at Amazon Web Services, a division that hosted the Capital One data she allegedly accessed illegally as of March.

After leaving work in 2016, she lost the apartment and moved into a group home. FBI agents who searched the house also arrested the owner for illegal possession of firearms when they discovered about 20 guns, including assault rifles, on the property.

In a court filing on Wednesday, federal authorities also said Thompson threatened to "shoot up" a California company on social media, even though they did not name the target.

A photo of the security camera provided by a neighbor who asked not to be identified shows federal agents conducting a raid on the home of Paige A. Thompson in Seattle. (Associated Press)

Investigators say they confirmed Thompson's online persona after posting a photo of an invoice she had received from a veterinarian who looked after one of her pets.

The bank said that most of the hacked data consists of information provided by consumers and small businesses that applied for credit cards between 2005 and early 2019. The data also exposes phone numbers, e-mail addresses, date of birth and self-reported income.

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"While I am grateful that the perpetrator has been caught, I apologize for what has happened," said Capital One CEO Richard D. Fairbank. "I regret the understandable concern this incident has to cause to those affected, and I am committed to doing it right."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.