Cybersecurity CEO accused of running malware on hospital PC blabs about it on LinkedIn
Sometimes, silence is the best option
UPDATED An Oklahoma City cybersecurity professional accused of installing spyware on a hospital PC confirmed on LinkedIn key details of the drama.
Jeffrey Bowie, whom court records indicate has been charged with two counts of violating Oklahoma's Computer Crimes Act, came under investigation after he was suspected of installing a software nasty on a computer at St Anthony's Hospital in August 2024.
According to reports, Bowie was seen using both a computer for guests and a staff workstation at the hospital. When confronted by hospital employees, he said he needed to use the equipment while visiting a family member undergoing surgery. A forensic review is said to have uncovered malware on one of the PCs, which was quickly removed and reported to authorities.
A St Anthony's representative told The Register the infection was addressed immediately and no patient information was accessed.
Bowie, who identifies himself as the CEO of both a cybersecurity company in Edmond, Oklahoma, and a company whose description on a cached Google search result indicates it sells or sold Kratom extracts, took to LinkedIn to explain himself.
In a post (archived here in case the original is taken down), Bowie contested the accusations though ultimately admitted to writing and running software on one hospital system that took a screenshot every 20 minutes and sent it to a remote host.
He claimed the code was written "on the fly" using PowerShell on a "guest computer designated for patients in the waiting area," not a machine meant for staff. Bowie said he simply wiggled the mouse on the staff PC and saw it was still logged in with access to personal medical records, and that was that, whereas he admitted he did drop the ad-hoc surveillance code on the other box.
Court records show a warrant for Bowie's arrest was issued on April 14; Bowie insists he was never actually taken into custody. "I was never arrested," he said on LinkedIn, contradicting the reports.
Bowie claimed on LinkedIn over the weekend the media has defamed him, causing reputational damage and business losses exceeding $12,000.
He further alleged FBI agents contacted him to discuss his AI services for tracking child predators online. According to his post, it was only during a later meeting — where he claims he was not read his rights — that agents brought up the hospital incident.
On LinkedIn, Bowie blamed the whole affair on being "in and out of psychosis" at the time. He said paranoia after an IT security breach at a hospital in the SSM Health network, combined with mishandled mental health treatment during his stay in that network, led him to believe his data was unsafe.
"SSM's ransomware attacks around the time of my stay, along with mishandling of the discontinuation of a psychotropic drug, fueled the fear my/others PHI wasn't safe," Bowie said. "[I] absolutely wouldn't have touched a single device had my botched mental health treatment not induced delusions/paranoia."
In another comment, Bowie noted his mental health "doesn't excuse what happened," but that he felt it was important to add context to the matter. Several netizens commenting on his LinkedIn post noted that Bowie ought to not only stop replying to comments, but take the missive down and contact a lawyer ASAP. We reached out to Bowie with questions, naturally.
"If you represent a media organization and want a comment/piece, feel free to reach out and be ready with CashApp / Apple Cash," Bowie said at the end of his LinkedIn post. In line with standard journalistic ethics, we did not offer payment.
We have not heard back. ®
Updated to add on April 29
Bowie has insisted to us he turned himself in, and was not actually arrested. "At no point in time was I placed in handcuffs, read my Miranda rights, or was told 'you’re under arrest,'" Bowie claimed.
He added his CashApp request was sarcastic.
Bowie further explained he had taken to LinkedIn to "get the facts out ahead of potentially erroneous reporting," and that he wasn't concerned that his statements online would be used against him.
"I had a near 45-minute sit down, where I answered the Feds’ questions, and provided the same screenshots from my post to the FBI," Bowie told us. "Nothing in my post isn’t already on the video [they] recorded."
Bowie added that, in his present state of mind, he understands what he did was wrong, and accepts full responsibility.
"I am putting full faith in God and due process to bring the truth to light," Bowie told us in a direct message chat on LinkedIn.