TL;DR
- A UK court orders the seizure of £4.1 million in stolen BTC.
- O’Connor serves a five-year US prison sentence for multiple cyber crimes.
- The Twitter hack compromised 130 high-profile accounts in July of 2020.
A court in the United Kingdom ordered Joseph James O’Connor to hand over £4.1 million in Bitcoin. These cryptocurrencies connect directly to the massive hack of Twitter accounts in 2020. O’Connor, now 26 years old, currently serves a five-year prison sentence in the United States.
The individual pleaded guilty in that country to multiple cyber crimes. His admission included charges for wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, extortion, and online stalking. Authorities arrested O’Connor in Spain during 2021 and later secured his extradition.
Seizure of Digital Assets
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it obtained a civil recovery order. This legal measure enables the immediate confiscation of 42 Bitcoins and other digital assets linked to O’Connor. All assets will remain frozen during the extradition process. A court-appointed trustee will manage the sale of the assets.
A prosecutor representative explained they used the full extent of their legal powers. The goal was to ensure no person profits from criminal activities, even without a formal conviction within the UK. This court decision arrives during a period of selling pressure in the global crypto market.
The Bitcoin price shows a drop of more than 10% over the past seven days. At press time, the average BTC price sits at $94,253. Its trading volume increased by 52% in 24 hours, reaching $72 billion. When the Twitter attack occurred, Bitcoin traded in a range between $9,000 and $10,000.
The Day the Twitter Giants Fell Silent
The July 2020 hack compromised more than 130 high-profile accounts on the social network. Affected accounts included those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Kim Kardashian, Apple, and Uber.
The attackers posted nearly identical messages from the compromised accounts. These posts urged users to send Bitcoin to a specific address. The promise was to double any amount received. This scheme generated over $100,000 in mere minutes.
The Twitter platform, now called X, temporarily locked verified accounts to contain the damage. However, the incident exposed a critical vulnerability in a crucial information platform. Cybersecurity experts later noted the attackers’ motives could have been far more destructive.
The charges against O’Connor are not limited to the Twitter incident. Authorities also accused him of taking over accounts on TikTok and Snapchat, and of cyberstalking a juvenile victim.
