What top celebrities or entrepreneurs post on social media can trigger anything from outrage to euphoria, and things can get really serious based on a single tweet by a US President. During the pandemic, online activity registered a surge as people were on social media and Zoom, but it also saw an uptick in cyber attacks.
During this time, a British man hacked important Twitter accounts including handles of current Twitter CEO Elon Musk, US President Joe Biden and influencer Kim Kardashian.
Taking control of influential voices
Joseph James O'Connor has pled guilty to hacking celebrity Twitter handles back in July 2020, which were among more than 100 accounts that he hit.
He also admitted to cyberstalking among other offences, against handles that also included Barack Obama's account.
He now faces 70 years in prison in the case, for which he was extradited from Spain to the US last month.
Co-conspirators barely out of their teens
Along with O'Connor, Mason Sheppard, Nima Fazeli and Graham Ivan Clark have also been charged for the mass hacking.
While Connor used the alias PlugwalkJoe, Sheppard used Chaewon, and was just 19 when he allegedly committed wire fraud, money laundering and intentional access of protected systems.
O'Connor used stealth accounts and aliases overseas to mask his identity and threatened users to extort money, causing emotional harm in the process.
The hackers who also took over high-profile TikTok accounts, sent out tweets asking followers of influential people to send Bitcoin to their wallets.
Considering the way tweets by Elon Musk can sway stock prices and how a US President's post can affect global geopolitics, such a breach in cybersecurity could have far-reaching consequences.
