Ohio inmates used illegal DIY computers to, big surprise, go on a cybercrime spree

When you're browsing online at work, you might sometimes feel like you're engaging in borderline criminal activity – but hey, at least you're not an actual prisoner while you're booking your next vacation while you're on the clock.

Two inmates serving sentences in an Ohio prison went on an actual illicit internet spree using computers cobbled together from parts salvaged from their prison jobs recycling old electronics, hacking into the facility's network to, surprise surprise, watch porn and steal stuff.

The full report on the incident, which took place back in 2015 but wasn't disclosed to the public until recently, revealed that the prisoners were able to hide their DIY rigs in the ceiling of a small training room in the medium-security Marion Correctional Facility.

The illegal activity was noticed by an IT staffer after one of the computers on the prison's network went over its daily usage limit. The computer in question had also triggered alerts after failed attempts to hack past the network's controls.

Some network sleuthing revealed the computers' location in the ceiling, and good old fashioned forensic investigation found that the illegal PCs had been used by inmates Scott Spriggs and Adam Johnston, who spent extended periods of time left on their own without supervision.

The two inmates didn't just use the computers for porn – they downloaded a veritable treasure trove of hacking materials and accessed the state's Departmental Offender Tracking System to steal another inmate's social security info after being inspired by a Bloomberg Business article on tax refund fraud. Johnston used the stolen info to apply for five credit cards, planning to use the scam from the Bloomberg article to file false tax returns.

They also found some way to create passes for other inmates to access restricted areas within the prison.

The illicit computers wound up causing even more issues for the prison – the facility's warden Jason Bunting, broke state rules when he didn't report the incident to superiors. He later resigned, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Spriggs and Johnston were sent to separate facilities elsewhere in the state after the computers were discovered and the full extent of their illegal web activities were unveiled. They're not allowed to have access to phones or electronics in their new digs, which is probably a good call.