Key facts
- Connor Moucka pleaded guilty to hacking over 165 companies and stealing billions of records.
- The hacks targeted customers of cloud provider Snowflake, including AT&T, LendingTree, and Ticketmaster.
- Moucka stole data from over 100 million AT&T customers, including sensitive personal and financial information.
- The hacker and accomplices received over $2.5 million in ransom payments and $500,000 from selling data.
- Victims incurred losses totaling $9.5 million.
- Moucka was arrested in Canada in late 2024 and faces decades in prison.
Connor Moucka, a 26-year-old Canadian citizen, has pleaded guilty to hacking more than 165 companies, stealing billions of records, and extorting victims. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the plea on Wednesday.
Moucka's activities included breaching cloud provider Snowflake, which facilitated access to dozens of its customers, such as AT&T, LendingTree, and Ticketmaster. From these breaches, he stole data from over 100 million AT&T customers, encompassing call and texting records, banking information, driver's license numbers, and Social Security numbers.
Over time, Moucka and his associates collected more than $2.5 million in ransom payments. Additionally, he profited around $500,000 by selling stolen victim data on hacking forums like BreachForums. The Department of Justice reported that victims of these cybercrimes suffered losses amounting to $9.5 million.
FBI special agent W. Mike Herrington described Moucka's tactics as "calculated and predatory," emphasizing the real harm caused to both targeted companies and millions of their customers. Moucka, also known online as Waifu and Judische, was apprehended in Canada in late 2024, shortly after the Snowflake breaches. Google Mandiant researcher Austin Larsen had previously identified Moucka as one of 2024's most consequential hackers. Moucka is slated for sentencing on October 27 and faces potential decades in prison.