British national Joseph James O’Connor, known as PlugwalkJoe, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking social media site Twitter in July 2020. O’Connor, who was extradited from Spain to the US last month, was charged with hacking over 130 Twitter accounts, including those of former US President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden, as well as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg, in a Bitcoin scam.
O’Connor faces a maximum sentence of over 70 years in prison. The US justice department charged O’Connor along with three others, including US teenager Graham Ivan Clark, who pleaded guilty in 2021, and Nima Fazeli of Orlando, Florida, and Mason Sheppard of Bognor Regis in the UK, who were charged with federal crimes.
O’Connor, who gained unauthorized access to Twitter accounts and solicited Bitcoin from followers, promised to double their money. The July 2020 Twitter hack affected over 350 million users.
US Assistant Attorney-General Kenneth Polite Jr described O’Connor’s actions as “flagrant and malicious”, stating that he had “harassed, threatened, and extorted his victims, causing substantial emotional harm.” Polite Jr also emphasized that investigators and prosecutors will identify, locate, and bring criminals to justice.
The Twitter hack exposed the vulnerability of the social media platform’s security, showing how the hackers telephoned Twitter employees and convinced them to hand over their internal login details. This access granted the hackers access to Twitter’s administrative tools, which could have caused more harm, such as spreading disinformation to affect political discourse.
In addition to the Twitter hack, O’Connor pleaded guilty to hacking other social media accounts, including a high-profile TikTok account. The US justice department also said he used technology to stalk a minor.
According to court documents, O’Connor used his technical skills to stalk a 15-year-old girl and steal private images and personal information from her online accounts. The Justice Department said O’Connor “used his sophisticated knowledge of computers to stalk and harass a victim over a period of months”.
This aspect of the case highlights the potential dangers of online harassment and the need for better laws to protect individuals from cyberstalking.
O’Connor’s guilty plea brings a measure of closure for the victims of the Twitter hack and other cybercrimes he was involved in. However, it also serves as a warning to other would-be hackers that they will not be able to operate with impunity. The case also underscores the need for social media companies to improve their security measures to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future.
As more of our lives are spent online, the threat of cybercrime continues to grow. It is essential that governments, law enforcement agencies, and technology companies work together to protect individuals from online threats and hold cybercriminals accountable for their actions.