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Two security contractors were arrested in Adel, Iowa on September 11 as they attempted to gain access to the Dallas County Courthouse. The two are employees of Coalfire—a "cybersecurity advisor" firm based in Westminster, Colorado that frequently does security assessments for federal agencies, state and local governments, and corporate clients. They claimed to be conducting a penetration test to determine how vulnerable county court records were and to measure law enforcement's response to a break-in.
Unfortunately, the Iowa state court officials who ordered the test never told county officials about it—and evidently no one anticipated that a physical break-in would be part of the test. For now, the penetration testers remain in jail. In a statement issued yesterday, state officials apologized to Dallas County, citing confusion over just what Coalfire was going to test:
"The scope is everything," Roseblatt explained. If the scope is only vaguely defined, "you could find yourself exposed to legal liability."
Coalfire's Justin Wynn and Gary Demercurio, who are still in jail [Update: They appear to have made bail on Thursday], have been charged with third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. Their bond has been set at $50,000, and they are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on September 23—in the same courthouse they were caught breaking into.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 18 2019, @04:38AM
1) They do have the requisite mens rea. The purposefully breached the building and had the tools. What is arguably missing is the "specific intent," which is actually considered an "attendant circumstance" and not a part of the mens rea.
2) Entrapment in Iowa is an "Affirmative Defense" and the Court has repeatedly ruled that it only applies to law enforcement and those properly deputized, not agents of the State in general. So, no luck there.
3) Only Executive and Legislative power has been delegated in Iowa to the Counties. Any judicial decisions in the State MUST be made by the Judicial Branch (even things like whether they can put down your dog, order you to cut your grass, or if you are speeding). Also, the Court personnel are all employed by the State directly. However, the physical court buildings (other than the Iowa Judicial Branch Building and a few others) are actually owned by the County. Dallas County's facilities, in particular, are in property owned by Dallas County that would have to be breached to reach the Court. With that in mind, the Iowa Judicial Branch cannot authorize a third party to breach a subdivision's property via contract directly. However, a contract like this may fall under their delegated power as a party authorized by the Judicial Branch for official business, but I'd really have to dive in to the actual scope of work and supporting law get there because the AG's office isn't talking either.
4) In Iowa, you can get the charges expunged after six months after dismissal, as long as the County Attorney does not object on disqualifying grounds. After that, you can get the filing sealed by filing that proper application.
5) Probably not. If this is literally what they were hired for and they knew the risks, then this might boost to their carriers, thanks to the notoriety. Especially given the other break ins where they weren't caught.