Cyber security researchers suggest a 21 year old UK resident possibly behind twitter hacks : Reports
By MYBRANDBOOK
New evidence surfaced by cybersecurity researchers suggests that the massive hack that compromised dozens of verified Twitter accounts was not carried out by a sophisticated nation-state actor, as some had thought, but rather by a ragtag group of young hackers.
The fraudulent tweets continued to appear for more than an hour with Twitter apparently helpless to stop them. In many cases, the tweets were quickly deleted, only for similar tweets to be sent out minutes later. Twitter ultimately blocked all verified accounts from sending tweets for roughly 30 minutes as it attempted to take control of the situation.
Before order was restored, more than 13 bitcoin - or roughly $117,000 - appeared to be transferred to the bitcoin wallet linked in the malicious tweets.
“We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf. We're looking into what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed and will share more here as we have it," Twitter said in the statement.
Now, new evidence surfaced by researcher Brian Krebs and cybersecurity firm Unit 211B shows users bragging in hacker forums and on Twitter that they could compromise any Twitter account in the days leading up to the hack.
PlugWalkJoe is known for SIM swapping attacks, or heists in which hackers bribe or trick mobile carrier employees to give them control of a different person's cell phone number in order to compromise their other accounts. PlugWalkJoe is also affiliated with ChucklingSquad, a group of SIM swappers thought to be behind the 2019 hack of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
According to Krebs' security sources, PlugWalkJoe is a 21-year-old from Liverpool, UK, named Joseph James Connor, who is currently living in Spain. The source told Krebs that an undercover female investigator recently convinced Connor - operating under his PlugWalkJoe handle - to agree to a video call, which showed a pool in the background that Connor has also posted to his Instagram. It's not clear whether Connor acted alone or with others to carry out the hack, nor is it clear whether the attack has run its course.
Twitter now faces demands from state and federal lawmakers to more thoroughly explain how the accounts were compromised and why it took so long to regain control. Both the FBI and New York State regulators opened investigations into the hack Thursday, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said it would request information from Twitter.
And cybersecurity experts told Business Insider that the attack likely isn't over. In security, you're paid to be paranoid," Kevin O'Brien, the CEO of the cloud email security company GreatHorn, told in a news report on Thursday. "And the paranoia says there was something else happening at the same time, or these accounts were being accessed in ways that are far more damaging."
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Nazara and ONDC set to transform in-game monetization with ‘
Nazara Technologies has teamed up with the Open Network for Digital Comme...
Jio Platforms and NICSI to offer cloud services to government
In a collaborative initiative, the National Informatics Centre Services In...
BSNL awards ₹5,000 Cr Project to RVNL-Led Consortium
A syndicate led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (abbreviated as RVNL), along wi...
Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint
A recent complaint alleges that Pinterest, the popular image-sharing platf...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Netflix adds 'Moments' feature for saving, sharing scenes from
Netflix has introduced a new “Moments” feature on its mobile app, whic
Jacqueline Fernandez come together with YouTuber Mr. Beast for
Jacqueline Fernandez has partnered with American YouTuber Mr. Beast to b
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Visa elevates Rishi Chhabra as new Country Manager for India
Rishi holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State Univ
Genesys welcomes Albert Nel as Senior VP and Regional Sales Le
Genesys continues to deepen its investment in the APAC region. Earlier this
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
Alpha Max offers high end solutions in the network space to en
The vision at Alpha Max is to attain quality as the trademark and create a
In India, 88% of Indian business leaders are planning to inves
As we move through 2024, it has become increasingly clear that AI is not ju
HOT PICK
SonicWall Launches TZ80: A Powerful Solution for Remote Office
SonicWall announced today the launch of the TZ80, a groundbreaking securit
Gigabyte X3D Turbo: A Gaming Revolution
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode is a cutting-edge feature that unifies cores distr
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
SAMRIDDHI AUTOMATIONS PVT. LTD.
TECHROUTES NETWORK PRIVATE LIMITED
MICROTEK INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD.
BHARAT ELECTRONICS LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Icons Of India : MUKESH D. AMBANI
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian businessman and the chairman and ...
Icons Of India : Kumar Mangalam Birla
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla recently made a comeb...
ICONS OF INDIA : RITESH AGARWAL
Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and the founder a...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
IOCL - Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
IOCL is India’s largest oil refining and marketing company ...
LIC - Life Insurance Corporation of India
LIC is the largest state-owned life insurance company in India...
C-DOT - Center of Development of Telematics
India’s premier research and development center focused on telecommu...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - AJAY BANGA, President - World Bank
Ajay Banga is an Indian-born American business executive who currently...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Dheeraj Pandey, CEO, DevRev
Dheeraj Pandey, Co-founder and CEO at DevRev , has a remarkable journe...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - PADMASREE WARRIOR, Founder, President & CEO - Fable
Padmasree Warrior, the Founder, President, and CEO of Fable, is revolu...
STARNITE AWARDS 2024
ITFORUM 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
