The recent Twitter hack echoed through the social media universe. Scammers made off with more than a hundred thousand dollars by taking over the accounts of celebrities, politicians, and even tech giants like Apple. Twitter’s stock dropped as much as 4% after the news and the social media world was thrown into disarray.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded in near disbelief.
“Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened,” Dorsey tweeted. “We’re diagnosing and will share everything we can when we have a more complete understanding of exactly what happened.”
Now we know that the chaos was all caused by a teenager.
Florida State authorities have arrested 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark and have charged him with 30 felonies as the mastermind of the great ‘Bit-Con’.
According to the Department of Justice, Graham Ivan Clark didn’t act alone. 22-year-old Mason Sheppard, of the United Kingdom, and 19-year-old Florida resident, Nima Fazeli were also arrested for their participation in criminal actions.
Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren issued a statement on the investigation and the charges.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice conducted a complex nationwide investigation, locating and apprehending the suspect in Hillsborough County.”
Warren went on to say that the true victims were not Twitter or the celebrities, but the folks who handed over their money to the sammers.
“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here. This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country, including here in Florida. This massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard, and we will not stand for that.”
Bitcoin has long been associated with crime and other unsavory acts, but as the technology continues to develop, the crypto space has been moving towards projecting a more professional tone.
Although Bitcoin has been the asset of choice requested by criminals, the real issue at hand is the breach of security at a major social media company and the fraud that occurred as a result.
When one crypto enthusiast suggested that Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson should hire the young hacker, he responded promptly and negatively.
“You don’t hire criminals. If you are looking for skilled hackers, then hire the ones who get access to such powerful systems and then show the world without harming people,” Hoskinson replied.
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