Joseph James O’Connor, a 23-year-old British man, has recently confessed to his involvement in a series of hacking schemes that targeted high-profile Twitter accounts, including those of former President Barack Obama and tech mogul Elon Musk. O’Connor was extradited from Spain on April 26 after being arrested nearly two years ago, and he pleaded guilty in a New York court earlier this week.
Aside from the Twitter breaches, O’Connor’s hacking group also utilized SIM card swaps to gain unauthorized access to various social media accounts, such as those belonging to TikTok star Addison Rae and actress Bella Thorne, in an attempt to expose their private information. The group further utilized this method to steal $794,000 worth of virtual currency from a cryptocurrency company based in New York.
Known by his online alias “PlugwalkJoe,” the British man is now facing charges of computer intrusion, extortion, stalking, wire fraud, and money laundering, all of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Mike Parkin, a senior technical engineer at Vulcan Cyber, expressed his thoughts on the matter, stating that while the conviction of O’Connor may serve as a deterrent to some casual cyber criminals in Western countries, it is unlikely to deter cyber criminals in nations that are not aligned with the West. Parkin emphasized the importance of focusing resources on preventing cyber incidents through improved cybersecurity measures rather than solely relying on post-incident investigation and prosecution.
This conviction follows closely on the heels of a successful operation by UK law enforcement to dismantle a significant money laundering syndicate, with the final three members of the gang being sentenced in March.
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