The United States Department of Justice recently announced the extradition of Joseph Hames O’Connor, a 23-year-old UK citizen, who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a series of high-profile cybercrimes in the United States, including the infamous 2020 Twitter hack that compromised over 100 prominent accounts. Among the victims of the breach were Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, whose accounts were exploited to promote Bitcoin giveaway scams despite having active multi-factor authentication in place.
The attackers, led by O’Connor, also known by his online moniker “PlugwalkJoe,” managed to amass a staggering 11.3 BTC (worth around $103,960) from unsuspecting victims, while also hiding scam warnings from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Adding to the list of O’Connor’s cybercrimes is the theft of $794,000 in digital assets through a sophisticated sim-swap attack. A fellow conspirator, Graham Ivan Clark, was arrested in March 2021 and later received a three-year prison sentence.
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) has charged O’Connor after his guilty plea, but the identity of the company targeted in the crypto attack remains undisclosed due to privacy policies. However, it’s evident that the attackers leveraged digital wallet infrastructure to execute their illicit activities.
Moreover, O’Connor and his co-conspirators were also implicated in the compromise of popular TikTok and Snapchat accounts with sizable followings through SIM swapping, enabling the hackers to steal sensitive personal data and extort victims by threatening to release the stolen information. While the Department of Justice has not officially identified any victims, recent reports suggest that prominent individuals like TikTok sensation Addison Rae and actor Bella Thorne were among the intended targets.
The rise of cybercrime like O’Connor’s showcases the pressing need for companies to integrate industry-standard security protocols to better protect themselves and their customers from potential attacks. In fact, some victims have criticized telecommunications giants, such as T-Mobile and AT&T, for their lack of essential security measures, which facilitated O’Connor’s sim-swap cryptocurrency theft.
While businesses continue to take steps to shield their platforms from hackers, the role of federal law enforcement and regulators is becoming increasingly critical in mitigating attacks and pursuing justice for victims. As cybercrimes grow in frequency and scale, strong cooperation between companies and authorities is essential to protect data and prevent future incidents.
Source: Cryptonews
