British man, 23, extradited to New York ADMITS huge Twitter hack of celebrity accounts
British man, 23, extradited to New York ADMITTED to hacking major celebrity accounts on Twitter, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk – and faces 77 years in US prison
A 23-year-old British man has pleaded guilty to hacking more than 100 Twitter accounts, including those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk, in one of the largest hacks in social media history.
Joseph James O’Connor, also known as PlugwalkJoe, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New York to his role in the July 2020 hacking, in addition to cyberstalking and multiple other schemes.
O’Connor was extradited from Spain on April 26 to face a total prison term of more than 70 years.
O’Connor was charged along with compatriot Mason Sheppard of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, and two Americans, Graham Ivan Clark and Nima Fazeli, according to the US Department of Justice.
Joseph James O’Connor led by Spanish police officers on July 22, 2021
Sheppard, who US authorities previously said is also known as Chaewon, was 19 years old when the crimes took place in July 2020. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money and deliberate access to a secure PC.
On Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A Polite Jr of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described O’Connor’s criminal activities as “blatant and malicious” and said his behavior “affected the lives of several people.”
The lawyer added: “He harassed, threatened and extorted his victims, causing significant emotional damage.
Like many criminal actors, O’Connor sought to remain anonymous by hiding behind stealth accounts and aliases from outside the United States through a computer.
“But this (guilty) plea shows that our investigators and prosecutors will identify, locate and try such criminals to ensure they face the consequences of their crimes.”
The U.S. Justice Department said O’Connor had participated in the exploitation of social media accounts, as well as online extortion and cyberstalking.
The hackers used social engineering tricks to gain access to the Twitter accounts and sent out tweets asking followers to send bitcoin to an account, promising to double their funds.
The 23-year-old also pleaded guilty to other hacking offenses, including gaining access to a high-profile TikTok account.
The US Justice Department said he had also used technology to stalk a minor.