Live News: British national pleads guilty in hacking case that hijacked celebrity Twitter accounts
Joseph James O’Connor, known online as PlugwalkJoe, is arrested in Estepona, Spain, in July 2021. He was later extradited to the United States © Jon Nazca/Reuters
A British national pleaded guilty Tuesday to US hacking charges, including a 2020 attack on Twitter that took over dozens of celebrity accounts to solicit more than $115,000 in cryptocurrency.
Joseph James O’Connor, known online as PlugwalkJoe, was extradited from Spain to the United States on April 26.
“O’Connor used his sophisticated technological abilities . . . to steal large amounts of cryptocurrency, hack Twitter, perform computer hacks to take over social media accounts and even cyber-stalk two victims, including a minor,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
He gained unauthorized access to Twitter accounts, including those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Kanye West and Elon Musk. O’Connor, 23, was arrested on the Costa del Sol in 2021.
