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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

U.K. Cyber Thug “Plugwalk Joe” Gets 5 Years in Prison

Summary: Joseph James "PlugwalkJoe" O'Connor, a 24-year-old from the United Kingdom, was sentenced to five years in a U.S. prison on June 23 after pleading guilty to all ten criminal charges against him in California and New York. Those charges covered conspiracy in the July 2020 Twitter hack, SIM-swapping attacks on cryptocurrency executives that stole digital currency now valued at more than $1.6 million, and a years-long spree of cyberstalking, extortion and swatting, including threats against a 16-year-old girl.

What's compelling: O'Connor's SIM-swapping spree turned text-message password resets and SMS-based multi-factor authentication into the entry point for stealing more than $1.6 million in cryptocurrency, and he was ordered to forfeit $794,012.64 on top of the prison term. Any account recovery or MFA flow your organization still routes through a mobile carrier inherits that same exposure.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Fraud & Scams
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