State Worker Charged with Hacking College-Age Women

Michael C. Ford is being accused of hacking into women’s computers and threatening to expose compromising photos of them if they didn’t comply with his demands.

A former employee of the State Department is being charged with computer hacking, cyber-stalking and extortion after investigators found a spreadsheet on his government computer detailing his alleged crimes.

Michael C. Ford had worked for the State Department out of the U.S. Embassy in London until his firing on May 18, a day after he was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Authorities say they have evidence Ford was trying to illegally gather sexually explicit material from various female’s computers, according to ABC News. Investigators claim to have found a list of around 250 email addresses Ford may have used to target the women.

Ford would allegedly find compromising photos of the women and threaten to send them to acquaintances if his targets didn’t comply with his demands.

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