This month, Twitter suffered the biggest security and privacy breach in its history. The breach targeted the accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and more in order to promote a bitcoin scam on July 15. Today, a new suspect was arrested for their ties to the Twitter hack. Graham Clark, 17, is accused of being the “mastermind” behind the massive breach, WFLA reports.
“This could have had a massive, massive amount of money stolen from people, it could have destabilized financial markets within America and across the globe; because he had access to powerful politicians’ Twitter accounts, he could have undermined politics as well as international diplomacy,” said Hillsborough State Attorney Warren, who described the case in a news conference.
Graham was arrested in his apartment in Tampa, Florida, where he lives alone. Thirty felony charges have been filed against the teen, including communications fraud, identity theft, hacking, and organized fraud. He is currently in jail and will be charged as an adult.
“This was not an ordinary 17-year-old,” Hillsborough stated. According to WFLA, the scheme reaped more than $100,00 in Bitcoin in just one day from unsuspecting Twitter users.
Twitter commented on the latest case update, writing that they “appreciate the swift actions of law enforcement in this investigation.”
WFLA reports that Clark is one of three people charged for their alleged roles in the hack. The other two suspects are 22-year-old Nima Fazeli of Orlando and 19-year-old Mason Sheppard of the United Kingdom, who also go by “Rolex” and “Chaewon” respectively.
CNN reports that investigators believe the motive behind the hack was bitcoin theft and sale of access to the accounts, rather than an attack by a foreign government.
Watch State Attorney Warren’s full statement below:
Related Stories — Twitter Hack Suspect
Houseparty Offers $1 Million to Prove Hacking
Teen Convicted of Luring Ex in Facebook Murder Plot Says Account Was Hacked
Twitter Hack Suspect — Sources
WFLA: Tampa teen accused of being ‘mastermind’ behind Twitter hack that targeted high-profile accounts
The Verge: A Florida teen just got arrested for Twitter’s huge hack
CNN