Monitoring Desk
MADRID: A Spanish court approved on Friday the extradition to the United States (US) of a British man suspected of hacking the Twitter accounts of leading public figures, including former president Barack Obama and president Joe Biden.
Police arrested Joseph James O’Connor in the southern city of Estepona, which is home to a large number of UK nationals.
He faces multiple charges of hacking more than 130 social media accounts, including those of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The man is accused of hacking celebrities’ Twitter accounts
The twitter accounts of former President Barack Obama, Tesla boss Elon Musk, who now owns Twitter, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates were also hit.
US officials allege the UK man hijacked the celebrity accounts and then asked their followers to send bitcoin to an account, promising to double their money.
Spain’s National Court on Friday said that he is also suspected of hacking the Snapchat account of an unknown public figure and then blackmailing him into publishing naked pictures of him if he was not financially compensated.
The man can also still appeal the extradition. He faces charges related to extortion, unauthorized computer access, and cyberstalking.
