INITIAL ACCESS FOR SALE: Romanian Actor Pleads Guilty After Breaching Oregon Emergency Management Network

Threat Summary

Category: Government Network Intrusion / Initial Access Brokerage
Features: Administrative credential theft, dark web access sale, identity exposure, municipal infrastructure targeting
Delivery Method: Unauthorized network intrusion, credential harvesting, underground marketplace negotiation
Threat Actor: Catalin Dragomir (alias “inthematrixl”)

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Core Narrative

A Romanian national has pleaded guilty in federal court to breaching the network of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management and monetizing administrative access through underground cybercriminal forums. The defendant, 45-year-old Catalin Dragomir, admitted to obtaining information from a protected computer and committing aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is scheduled for May, where he faces a statutory maximum of seven years’ imprisonment.

Court filings establish that Dragomir operated under the online alias “inthematrixl” and functioned as an initial access broker — a role increasingly central to ransomware and data extortion ecosystems. On June 15, 2021, he advertised administrative-level credentials to Oregon’s emergency management network on a dark web marketplace. He negotiated a $3,000 Bitcoin payment for the access.

To validate the legitimacy of the intrusion, Dragomir repeatedly accessed the compromised environment and transmitted screenshots to prospective buyers. He also provided login credentials and personally identifiable information belonging to a state employee, including name, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. Federal prosecutors indicated that Dragomir breached at least 10 additional U.S. organizations, generating losses exceeding $250,000.

Dragomir was arrested in Romania in November 2024 and extradited to the United States in 2025. The case represents a relatively uncommon example of a foreign-based municipal government intruder being apprehended, extradited, and brought before a U.S. court.

Initial access brokerage has evolved into a supply chain layer within the ransomware economy. Rather than executing encryption attacks directly, actors like Dragomir specialize in penetrating networks, escalating privileges, and packaging that access for resale to downstream ransomware syndicates. Municipal agencies are frequent targets due to legacy infrastructure, constrained cybersecurity budgets, and operational urgency that increases leverage during outages.

The breach of a state emergency management office underscores the risk exposure inherent in government systems tasked with disaster response coordination. Administrative credentials within such environments can enable lateral movement across interconnected state systems, including public safety, emergency communications, and resource allocation platforms.

Elevated cyber activity against local governments and healthcare institutions has been formally disclosed across multiple states. Municipalities in Connecticut, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania have acknowledged disruptive cyber incidents in recent days. The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) announced a ransomware attack that forced the closure of 35 clinic locations, canceling elective and outpatient procedures while shifting to downtime operations. Federal authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, are assisting with response and recovery efforts.

These developments illustrate the operational chain connecting initial access brokerage to downstream ransomware deployment. Access sold in underground markets frequently becomes the entry vector for encryption, data exfiltration, and operational disruption campaigns.

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Infrastructure at Risk

• State and Municipal Government Networks
• Emergency Management and Disaster Response Systems
• Healthcare Infrastructure and Hospital IT Environments
• Identity Databases Containing Sensitive PII
• Legacy Municipal Authentication Systems

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Policy / Allied Pressure

International cooperation remains essential for disrupting foreign-based access brokers operating from jurisdictions outside direct U.S. enforcement reach. Extradition in this case signals increased cross-border coordination, though many initial access actors continue to operate in regions with limited enforcement alignment.

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Vendor Defense / Reliance

Municipal entities remain dependent on identity access management hardening, multi-factor authentication enforcement, credential rotation discipline, and network segmentation to prevent privilege escalation. Detection of initial access brokerage activity requires deep log telemetry and monitoring of abnormal administrative behavior.

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Forecast — 30 Days

• Continued scrutiny of underground marketplaces offering municipal access
• Increased patching advisories targeting government networks
• Elevated ransomware targeting of healthcare and emergency services
• Additional arrests tied to initial access resale networks
• Expanded forensic reviews of municipal authentication systems

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TRJ Verdict

The monetization of administrative credentials has matured into a structured industry within the cybercriminal economy. Initial access brokers serve as the logistical front line for ransomware and extortion groups, lowering operational barriers for destructive campaigns. The guilty plea in this case demonstrates enforcement reach, yet the broader ecosystem remains active. Municipal and healthcare environments continue to represent high-impact targets where access brokerage can rapidly translate into systemic disruption.

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