- A British hacker who helped with the 2020 Twitter hack has pled guilty to multiple cybercrime charges
- Joseph O’Connor was arrested in Spain in July 2021 for his part in various crimes and was extradited to the US last month
- O’Conner will be sentenced in June and could face decades in jail
Joseph O’Connor, the fourth man arrested for the 2020 Twitter hack that managed to compromise high-profile accounts to solicit cryptocurrencies, has pled guilty to two sets of charges having been extradited to the US last month. O’Conner was identified in July 2021 as an additional member of the gang who took over 130 accounts and tricked followers into handing over ₿13, and now faces a lengthy spell behind bars for his role. The other three behind the hack were all apprehended just two weeks after the event following a tip-off from a rival hacker gang. All up, the maximum sentence for O’Connor’s crimes is 77 years.
O’Conner Ratted by Co-conspirators
O’Connor’s name wasn’t on the authorities’ radar when the trio, Americans Graham Clark and Nima Fazeli and UK-based Mason Sheppard, were arrested for the stunt in late July 2020. The gang were busted when a group of rival hackers put out a database of user information stolen from a hacking forum, information which identified Sheppard and Fazeli after Clark had already been pinpointed by the FBI.
The hackers posted fraudulent messages on the compromised accounts, which included those of Barak Obama and Elon Musk, urging people to send cryptocurrency to different accounts, receiving a total of approximately $117,000 through 415 transfers. Two other Bitcoin addresses posted also collected $6,700 through 100 transactions.
Decades Behind Bars?
O’Connor’s involvement in the attack came to light in FBI interviews, with one or more of the trio identifying O’Connor and claiming that he told them he could gain access to certain Twitter accounts, including possibly that of former President Donald Trump.
O’Connor was arrested in July 2021 for his role in the Twitter attack and other cyber crimes, including a SIM swap attack that allowed him to steal approximately $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a Manhattan-based cryptocurrency company, which he then laundered.
The maximum sentence for all of O’Connor’s crimes, which range from money laundering to stalking, is 77 years, while he also faces financial penalties and restitution.
