County pays $600k to pentesters it arrested for assessing courthouse security
8 days ago
- #legal
- #security
- #pentesting
- Two security professionals, Gary DeMercurio and Justin Wynn, settled a lawsuit for $600,000 after wrongful arrest during an authorized security assessment.
- The assessment was a 'red-team' exercise for the Iowa Judicial Branch, including physical attacks like lockpicking, as per the contract.
- Despite authorization, they were arrested for felony burglary, jailed for 20 hours, and faced misdemeanor trespassing charges later.
- Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard publicly insisted they acted illegally, damaging their reputations.
- The incident raised concerns among security professionals about legal risks when performing authorized assessments.
- The professionals entered the courthouse after finding an unlocked door, locked it, then bypassed the lock to trigger an alarm.