The prisoners were originally given the task of dismantling old computers for recycling them. Instead of doing so, "they took two computers, installed hard drives and network card and transported the computers across the institution for approx 1,100 feet and hid them in the ceiling", according to a report by the Ohio Inspector General. They also had wire, power cords, and cables.
The inmates stole login credentials from one of the guards and infiltrated the prison network. They committed a few cyber crimes including credit card fraud and identity theft. One of the inmates would have also committed tax fraud by filing false tax forms and having the refunds wired to debit cards but was unluckily caught as they were not paying attention to when they logged on and using the system regularly.
"It surprised me that the inmates had the ability to not only connect these computers to the state's network but had the ability to build these computers," Meyer told ABC 6, according to PCMag. "They were able to travel to the institution more than 1,100 feet without being checked by security through several check points, and not a single correction's staff member stopped them from transporting these computers into the administrative portion of the building."
There were five inmates involved. In addition to committing identity theft and attempting tax fraud, some of the culprits used the PCs to watch porn, surf through Tor sites, chat on Pidgin and look up articles about making homemade drugs, plastics, and explosives.
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