British hacker Joseph O’Connor, also known as PlugwalkJoe, has been sentenced to five years in a United States prison for his involvement in stealing $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency through a SIM swap attack on a crypto exchange executive in April 2019. O’Connor was initially arrested in Spain in July 2021 and was extradited to the U.S. in April 2023. In May, he pled guilty to several charges, including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York highlighted O’Connor’s prison sentence in a statement released on June 23. According to the statement, in addition to the five-year prison term, O’Connor was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $794,012.64 in forfeiture.
The identity of the hacked crypto executive has not been disclosed. However, after successfully executing the SIM swap, O’Connor gained unauthorized access to accounts and computing systems belonging to the exchange where the executive worked. He and his co-conspirators then laundered the stolen cryptocurrency through various transfers and transactions, exchanging some of it for Bitcoin using cryptocurrency exchange services. A portion of the stolen cryptocurrency was ultimately deposited into a cryptocurrency exchange account controlled by O’Connor.
It’s worth noting that O’Connor’s sentence also includes offenses related to the infamous Twitter hack that occurred in July 2020. During the hack, O’Connor and his accomplices used social engineering techniques and SIM swapping attacks to take control of around 130 prominent Twitter accounts, as well as two accounts on TikTok and Snapchat. They either used the hacked accounts to defraud other Twitter users or sold access to the accounts to others. O’Connor also attempted to blackmail a victim on Snapchat by threatening to publicly release private messages if they didn’t promote O’Connor’s online persona. Furthermore, he stalked and threatened another victim and orchestrated swatting attacks by falsely reporting emergencies to authorities.
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SIM swap attacks remain a significant issue in the crypto sector. This type of attack involves a bad actor taking control of a victim’s phone number by linking it to another SIM card controlled by the attacker. By doing so, the attacker can reroute the victim’s calls and messages to a device they control, allowing them to gain access to accounts protected by SMS-based two-factor authentication. This scheme is often used to deceive followers of prominent accounts into clicking phishing links that result in the theft of their crypto assets.
Despite O’Connor’s actions occurring three years ago, SIM swap attacks continue to plague the crypto industry. In recent news, a group of scammers conducted SIM swaps on at least eight accounts belonging to well-known figures in crypto, stealing nearly $1 million. The group used the hacked accounts to promote phishing links and deceive users into giving up their funds.
These incidents serve as a reminder of the ongoing threats faced by individuals and companies operating in the cryptocurrency space. It’s crucial for users to remain vigilant, employ strong security measures, and stay updated on the latest security practices to protect their digital assets. Additionally, crypto exchanges and platforms must continuously enhance their security systems and protocols to mitigate the risks posed by hackers and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.
