WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – A former University of Michigan coach is facing over 20 charges for allegedly getting personal data and intimate content of over 3,000 student-athletes across the country.
Matthew Weiss, a former co-offensive coordinator, was charged with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and ten counts of aggravated identity thefts.
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According to court documents, Weiss allegedly hacked social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 3,300 student-athletes between 2015 and January 2023.
According to court documents, he got access to student-athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities across the country that were maintained by Keffer Development Services, a third-party vendor, through compromising the passwords of accounts with elevated levels of access, such as the accounts of trainers or athletic directors.
After getting access, Weiss allegedly downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes. He also downloaded passwords athletes used to access Keffer Development Services, a system to view and update the athletes’ data. The passwords were encrypted, but Weiss cracked the encryption protecting the passwords, using research he found on the internet.
Weiss allegedly conducted additional research on targeted athletes to obtain personal information such as their mothers’ maiden names, pets, places of birth and nicknames.
He allegedly researched and targeted the women based on their school affiliation, athletic history and physical characteristics. Court documents allege Weiss’ goal was to obtain private photos and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.
Weiss is accused of researching and targeting athletes on the internet for months, and in some cases, years after he gained access to certain accounts, he returned to those accounts for additional photos and videos.
Court documents said he also got access to social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 additional students or alumni from universities or colleges nationwide. He would search for and download personal, intimate photos and videos once he gained access.
Weiss reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in universities’ account authentication processes to get access to students or alumni.
After resetting the passwords of more than 40 email accounts of the University of Michigan alumni, Weiss accessed more than 25 of these accounts.
Weiss also reportedly obtained information that furthered his ability to access one or more social media, email and cloud storage accounts from one or more University of Michigan alumni.
Weiss reportedly kept notes on those whose photographs and videos he viewed, including notes commenting on their bodies and sexual preferences.
