Bermuda Post

Saturday, Nov 02, 2024

Briton pleads guilty to hacking stars' Twitter accounts to steal Bitcoin

Briton pleads guilty to hacking stars' Twitter accounts to steal Bitcoin

The hacker will have to pay back the hundreds of thousands of dollars he stole from people and faces decades behind bars.

A British man has pleaded guilty to hacking Twitter accounts - including Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk - in a bid to con people out of Bitcoin.

Joseph O'Connor, 23, also admitted other hacking schemes, cyberstalking a young victim, and money laundering charges.

He was extradited from Spain to New York last month and faces as much as 77 years in jail when he is sentenced on 23 June.

O'Connor and his co-conspirators stole more than $794,000 (£629,000) of cryptocurrency - money he must give back to victims, according to prosecutors.

Twitter had to freeze some of the stars' accounts after the tweets in July 2020 urged people to send $1,000 in Bitcoin to receive double back.

He also hacked accounts belonging to Kanye West, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, investor Warren Buffett, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

Twitter confirmed 130 accounts were targeted, with 45 used to send tweets.

The company said the hackers got access via a social engineering attack - a breach based on convincing someone to provide access, rather than finding flaws in software.

Twitter said at the time that "a small number of employees" were called over the phone and tricked into providing their login credentials.

Barack Obama was among those hacked


The amateur quality of the scam surprised many compared with how effective the attackers had been at gaining access.

"O'Connor's criminal activities were flagrant and malicious, and his conduct impacted multiple people's lives," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite.

"He harassed, threatened, and extorted his victims, causing substantial emotional harm."

British citizen Joseph James O'Connor is led by Spanish police officers as he leaves a court in July 2021


O'Connor, who was known online by the handle PlugWalkJoe and previously gave interviews to the media regarding the hack, was arrested in July 2021 in Spain at the request of the FBI.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×