22-Year-Old UK Citizen Arrested for 2020 Twitter Hack Affecting Apple

The United States Justice Department has continued pursuing those responsible for a 2020 Twitter hack that saw the accounts of high-profile companies and individuals hacked as part of a Bitcoin scam.

apple bitcoin hack
Several people have already been arrested and charged for the attack, and the DoJ today announced (via The Verge) that 22-year-old Joseph O'Connor, aka "PlugWalkJoe," has also been arrested.

A UK citizen, O'Connor was apprehended by the Spanish National Police in Spain, and he has been charged with multiple crimes related to the hack as well as crimes related to cyberstalking and takeovers of TikTok and Snapchat accounts. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine sentencing based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

O'Connor's role in the Twitter attack was previously highlighted by Krebs on Security, and in a 2020 interview with The New York Times, O'Connor claimed that he was not involved in the hack. "They can come arrest me," he said. "I would laugh at them. I haven't done anything."

Graham Ivan Clark, an 18-year-old considered to be the "mastermind" of the attack, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this year. Mason "Chaewon" Sheppard from the UK and Nima "Rolex" Fazeli have also been charged in the attack and are facing prison time.

In the 2020 attack, hackers targeted Twitter employees in a "phone spear phishing attack," tricking them into thinking they were speaking to other Twitter employees. Using these methods, the hackers were able to gain access to Twitter's internal tools and were able to illicitly access Twitter accounts.

The parties involved hacked into accounts belonging to Apple, Elon Musk, Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and more. Tweets were sent out from these accounts soliciting Bitcoin, and scammers received more than $100,000.

Tags: Bitcoin, Hack

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Top Rated Comments

MacMikePro Avatar
49 months ago
Received more than $100,000??!! Go ahead and arrest everyone who sent them money as well while you’re at it, we don’t need that level of stupidity walking around society freely. I think we all agree we would be better off if they were all locked up.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bluetoot- Avatar
49 months ago
Young and bright, but no morals. Sad waste.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
49 months ago
Should have applied for Apple instead of dealing with this mess.

Glad, he was arrested. Well deserved. He knew what he was doing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scoob Redux Avatar
49 months ago
Sounds like Twitter was at fault here for divulging security info. Twitter should be the one on trial.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miniyou64 Avatar
49 months ago

I hope he gets the maximum penalty the law allows.
Ooo look an authoritarian!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JetLaw Avatar
49 months ago
“Hack,” lol.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)