Another court document shows that the FBI removed computers and data storage devices from Helkowski’s home March 16.
Bucalo wrote in his affidavit that Helkowski was working for a university information technology contractor, Baltimore-based Canton Group, when he identified a security flaw in the school’s network. Canton Group informed the university of the problem on Feb. 27, the agent wrote.
Ethan Kazi, CEO of the Canton Group, said in an email late Thursday that Helkowski no longer works for the company, which he said is cooperating with law enforcement.
On March 15, the school’s security task force received an email signed “the PPM,” an alias the FBI subsequently linked to Helkowski, informing them of the disclosure, according to the affidavit. The writer offered to “consider pulling it off the public internet (sic),” if university officials would “cooperate as in just let me impart some useful information on things that need to be fixed immediately — at no cost or demands of any sort.”
The university has said the disclosure wasn’t related to a Feb. 18 data breach involving records of about 288,000 faculty, staff, students and others.
By David Dishneau, Associated Press
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