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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 
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button on, whatever podcast 
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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.