Two young adults are facing prosecution by the juvenile prosecutor’s office in Bari for cybercrimes and explosive manufacturing committed between May and December 2023, when they were 15 and 16 years old.
The suspects, who are now 18 and 19 years old, used specialized software to bypass security controls, extract passwords, and infiltrate restricted areas of government websites, according to an investigation by the postal police. Investigators report that the pair shared video tutorials on Telegram teaching others how to hack payment cards, breach private streaming accounts, and illegally access digital ticketing platforms.
The juvenile prosecutor’s office recently notified the suspects of the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, a procedural step that precedes a request for indictment. The charges against the two people include computer fraud, identity theft, unauthorized access to computer systems, and the receiving of stolen goods, alongside weapons and explosives offenses.
The complete list of formal accusations brought forward by authorities encompasses unauthorized access to computer systems, the unlawful possession and distribution of access codes, the dissemination of tools intended to damage computer systems, illicit interception of telecommunications, false representation, computer fraud, and receiving stolen property.
Searches of the suspects’ residences yielded chemical materials such as acetone bottles, as well as electronic devices containing programs designed to harvest sensitive information.
According to case files detailed by La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, the pair used the identity of a real law enforcement officer to accredit themselves on a Ministry of Justice portal, gaining entry to the sensitive “reports of crime” section.
In addition to digital breaches, investigators discovered that the channels run by the suspects hosted detailed guides on constructing homemade explosive devices. Officials said that the two youths not only distributed instructions on where to procure raw materials but also manufactured and detonated bombs themselves.
The instructional content distributed across their online channels included video demonstrations recorded either indoors or outside, providing step-by-step guidance on how to replicate their illicit activities.