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True Crime: Elon Musk and Twitter · Elon Musk Podcast

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  Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast today, we
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  delve into the captivating tale of the notorious Twitter hack of
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  2020 to help millions of Twitter users hostage in real time.
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  Sweeping up Giants of the tech world and even reaching Elon
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  Musk. The plot thickens, as we explore
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  the recent sentencing of Joseph James O'Connor, the UK hacker
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  known as plug walk. Joe was a crucial player in this
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  digital drama. Now, serving five years in
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  federal prison and having to Forfeit 794.
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  Thousand dollars to his victims. O'Connor story is a startling
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  illustration of the very tangible consequences of
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  cybercrime. And in this episode will be
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  unpacking the details of this case, from O'Connor's
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  sophisticated hacking methods to, the series of events,
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  leading to his capture in extra diction.
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  From Spain will delve into the repercussions of the hack, its
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  impact on Twitter cybersecurity measures and what this incident
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  means for the larger Tech Community, it's a fascinating
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  blend of Technology crime and real-world implications, that
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  Was the importance with cyber security in our increasingly
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  digital lives? But before we get into that,
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  let's hear from some of our sponsors.
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  It's been around three years since the seismic Twitter hack
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  of 2020 erupted on the digital Horizon.
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  The snaring Global Tech Giants, an ordinary users alike.
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  But this year, just as caught up with one of the hackers
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  responsible Joseph James O'Connor in a compelling example
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  of how cyber crime carries, real-world consequences, a New
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  York. Federal court has sentenced
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  O'Connor 24. A UK citizen, infamously known
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  online as plug. Walk Joe, 25 years in prison.
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  The sentence comes after O'Connor pleaded guilty in May
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  to an array of charges including computer hacking wire fraud and
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  cyberstalking the digital highest.
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  Among the most conspicuous in recent memory, played out like a
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  high-stakes Thriller unfurling in real time before millions of
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  Twitter users worldwide and the consequences of O'Connor's
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  actions significant enough to make him agree.
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  To pay 794 thousand dollars to his victims of the Cyber crimes
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  in a saga marked by International cooperation
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  O'Connor was extradited from Spain.
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  Earlier this year, following the request of us prosecutors and
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  since then he has remained in the grip of us custody.
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  During the sentencing, judge, did srec of estimated that
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  O'Connor could serve roughly, half of a sentence taking into
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  account, the more than two years, he had spent in pretrial,
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  detention and the hackers. Potential time in prison.
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  According to Reuters could have stretched up to staggering 77
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  years. Now, as the Justice Department's
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  prosecutors lobbied for row, counter to serve at least seven
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  years, the courtroom Buzz with anticipation.
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  But when his turn came O'Connor delivered, a statement that
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  tilted towards Contrition rather than Defiance living his actions
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  as stupid and pointless. He expressed remorse to his
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  victims and sought leniency from the judge.
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  Nevertheless, the government's portrayal of O'Connor painted, a
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  very different picture prosecutors accused.
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  Him of exploiting, his sophisticated technological
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  abilities, from aligned purposes, resulting in an
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  intricate web of cyber crimes. These included a complex seem
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  swap attack that looted considerable amounts of
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  cryptocurrency. Hacking Twitter commandeering
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  social media accounts and even cyberstalking two victims.
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  One of them a minor and too many O'Connor was better known by his
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  cryptic online, pseudonym plug walk Joe and under this model
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  Grrrr. He became a part of a band of
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  hackers that targeted a string of high-profile Twitter accounts
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  among them were those of Apple Finance Bill Gates, Joe Biden
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  and even Elan musk O'Connor O'Connor and his associate
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  skillfully manipulated Twitter employees into granting them
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  access to Twitter's Network they deployed, phone based social
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  engineering techniques, a strategy that fellow hacker, G,
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  Ivan Clark, Alias Kirk leverage to hijack, me aside, Twitter,
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  user accounts Clark Also implicated in the Twitter breach
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  would later be convicted for his actions.
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  This breach resulted in a spectacle that millions of
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  Twitter users will not soon forget as Twitter scribbled to
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  contain this intrusion. Users were temporarily blocked
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  from posting with their timelines inundated with
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  cryptocurrency scams. From some of the biggest names
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  in Tech, including Ilan, subsequently an investigation by
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  the New York Department of Financial Services.
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  Accused Twitter of inadequate cyber security protections.
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  And according to the findings that hackers has hit
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  impersonated. Twitter's it Department getting
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  access by calling Twitter employees and once inside they
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  hijack, the accounts of prominent figures and propagated
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  double your Bitcoin scams. Now the scam, fetch the hackers
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  about 120,000 dollars as indicated by public blockchain
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  records and the response to the breach Twitter overhauled.
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  Its cyber security controls introducing Hardware, security
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  keys for employees to combat future phishing attempts.
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  Now, as the dust settled new allegations, About the breach
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  began to surface around two years later.
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  Peter mud zico, Twitter's head of security, who is hired months
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  after the breach describe the hackers access as a kind of God
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  mode in this omnipotent access allowed them to masquerade as
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  any Twitter account that they chose.
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  And in a whistleblower, complaint filed with Federal
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  Regulators in 2022, Zach, code label.
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  The incident as quote, the largest hack of a social media
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  platform in history, he went on to accuse Twitter of significant
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  cyber security failings. Stoking even more controversy.
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  Now, this Friday marked a pivotal point in this three-year
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  long, digital dilemma with the sentencing of one of the main
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  actors. Joseph James O'Connor with a
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  5-year sentence handed down and seven hundred ninety four
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  thousand dollars to be forfeited.
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  It's a reminder that even in this interconnected world of the
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  21st century, even the most elusive, cyber criminals.
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  Cannot Escape Justice. Thank you so much for listening
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  to the show today. I appreciate you spending your
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  time here with me. Me.
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  Now, if you could take a second and hit the follower subscribe
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  button on, whatever podcast platform that you're on right
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  now. If you line musk news,
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  appreciate you, take care of yourselves and each other and I
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  will see you in the next one.