• O’Connor was apprehended in Spain in July 2021.
• The hacker’s conviction included his role in the large Twitter breach in July 2020.

Joseph O’Connor, alias “PlugwalkJoe,” was given a five-year jail term in the United States for his part in a SIM swap assault on a cryptocurrency exchange executive in April 2019 that resulted in the theft of $794,000 worth of cryptocurrencies.

O’Connor was apprehended in Spain in July 2021. and eventually sent back to the United States through extradition on April 26, 2023. He entered a guilty plea in May on several counts. Including conspiracy to conduct computer breaches, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York made note of the jail term in a statement released on June 23.

The statement reads:

“In addition to the prison term, O’Connor was sentenced to three years of supervised release. O’Connor was further ordered to pay $794,012.64 in forfeiture.”

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Several Hacks Executed

O’Connor acquired unlawful access to accounts and computer systems. Belonging to the exchange where the hacked crypto exec worked after SIM swapping with the exec in question, who has not been identified.

Moreover, O’Connor’s conviction included his role in the large Twitter breach in July 2020. Which netted him and his group almost $120,000 in cryptocurrency.

Around 130 high-profile Twitter accounts and two significant profiles on TikTok and Snapchat were compromised. After hackers used a combination of “social engineering techniques” and SIM-swapping operations.

Sometimes, the conspirators seized control and utilized it to launch a scam on unsuspecting Twitter users. Or even sell accounts to someone else. O’Connor’s goal in this technique was to blackmail the Snapchat user into promoting his or her online identity by threatening to reveal private communications.

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