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The British hacker sentenced in the United States over the July 2020 Twitter breach was Joseph James O’Connor, known online as “PlugwalkJoe.” On June 23, 2023, a federal court sentenced him to five years in prison. The case also covered account takeovers and other cybercrimes, so the Twitter hack was only one part of the prosecution.
Who was the British Twitter hacker sentenced in the US?
Joseph James O’Connor is a U.K. citizen who was extradited from Spain to the United States on April 26, 2023. He pleaded guilty on May 9, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, and was sentenced on June 23, 2023. The Justice Department identified him by the alias “PlugwalkJoe.” The DOJ’s 2023 sentencing announcement identifies O’Connor as the defendant who received the five-year sentence.
Why the names Mason Sheppard and “Chaewon” also appear
Mason Sheppard, a British national also known as “Chaewon,” was a different person charged in connection with the 2020 Twitter hack. In its July 31, 2020 announcement, the Justice Department said Sheppard, then 19 and from Bognor Regis, had been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and intentional access of a protected computer. That announcement establishes charges, not a sentence for Sheppard; O’Connor is the British defendant named in the 2023 five-year sentencing announcement.
What did O’Connor’s five-year sentence cover?
The sentence applied to a broader set of cybercrime offenses, not just the Twitter incident. The DOJ’s 2023 announcement says O’Connor’s case included his role in the July 2020 Twitter hack, intrusions involving TikTok and Snapchat account takeovers, cyberstalking, extortive and threatening communications, and a separate conspiracy to use SIM swaps to steal cryptocurrency from a Manhattan-based company.
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Along with five years in federal prison, the court imposed three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $794,012.64. These are the penalties stated in the DOJ sentencing announcement.
What was O’Connor’s role in the Twitter hack?
The attack took place on July 15, 2020. The DOJ’s sentencing account says O’Connor communicated with others about buying unauthorized access to Twitter accounts, including accounts associated with public figures, and agreed to pay $10,000 for access to one account.
The Justice Department attributes the compromise and use of Twitter administrative tools to O’Connor’s co-conspirators, who used social engineering to gain unauthorized access. Those tools let users transfer control of some accounts from their rightful owners to unauthorized users. The distinction matters: the DOJ describes O’Connor’s conduct in terms of seeking and agreeing to buy account access; it does not attribute the initial acquisition of the administrative tools to him in the sentencing release.
How many accounts and how much money were involved?
In its July 31, 2020 charging announcement, the DOJ said the attack compromised approximately 130 Twitter accounts associated with politicians, celebrities, and musicians. It also said the bitcoin account used in the scam received more than 400 transfers worth more than $100,000. These are figures reported in the government’s contemporaneous charging announcement, not findings from a separate statistical study.
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The same release announced charges against three individuals. It provides context about the incident and its investigation; O’Connor’s conviction and sentence are established by the separate 2023 sentencing announcement.
What happened in the case?
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 15, 2020 | The Twitter hack occurred. |
| July 31, 2020 | The DOJ announced charges against three individuals and reported its account and bitcoin-transfer figures. |
| April 26, 2023 | O’Connor was extradited from Spain to the United States. |
| May 9, 2023 | O’Connor pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. |
| June 23, 2023 | O’Connor was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $794,012.64. |
What the official statements establish
The DOJ’s 2023 sentencing announcement is the source for O’Connor’s guilty plea, conduct, and sentence. Its 2020 charging announcement supplies the contemporaneous description of the Twitter incident, the approximate account count, the bitcoin transfers, and the charges announced against Sheppard and others. In that 2020 release, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt said: “There is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence.”
The two announcements establish O’Connor’s 2023 sentence and Sheppard’s 2020 charges, but do not establish later appeals or custody developments after O’Connor’s sentencing.
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