A 16 year old teenager located in the Massachusetts appears to have played a crucial role in the July 15 Twitter attack
As part of the ongoing investigation on the massive Twitter hack that happened within the crypto industry, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has executed a search warrant against a 16 year old Massachusetts resident.
A New York Times report released on September 1 details how authorities raided the home of a teenager who they believe had an “equal, if not more significant role” in the large-scale breach that occurred on July 15.
The hackers orchestrated a breach on several high profile Twitter accounts. Millions of followers were asked to send in Bitcoin (BTC) and were promised that their donations would be returned in double.
The investigation has revealed that the teen may have impersonated a Twitter employee or a contractor to fool legitimate parties into entering their social media credentials to fake websites. He then used the information to log in to their accounts and post the false advertisements.
Some notable accounts that were affected by the hack included that of former US president Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Apple, Uber, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian.
Some Twitter users were fooled by the ruse and sent 12 BTC (around $144,000 as of writing) to different addresses that were posted during the attack.
This individual, whose identity has not been made available to the public, may possibly be the fourth person charged in the midst of an investigation launched by the FBI, IRS, US Secret Services and local authorities.
The report explains that the teenager behind the attack was 17 year old Graham Ivan Clark, who was tracked down through his Discord chat records. It was reported that the fourth individual had been harder to identify because he used encrypted messaging systems such as Signal and Wire.
Clark was arrested on July 31, on 30 felony charges. Following his arrest, a 19 year old UK resident named Mason John Sheppard and a 22 year old Florida resident named Nima Fazeli have also been charged by federal prosecutors.
On August 4, Clark pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of communications fraud, 11 counts of illegal use of personal information, one count of organized fraud over $5,000 and one count of illegally accessing a computer or electronic device. He is currently in jail with bail set at $725,000.
The FBI has yet to present charges to the youth for his alleged involvement in the incident.