16-year-old linked to celebrity Twitter hack: report

The FBI has zeroed in on another individual it thinks may be responsible for the Twitter hack of dozens of prominent accounts in July, and he's only 16, according to the New York Times.

Authorities in Florida already arrested 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark, who was deemed the “mastermind” behind the attack, which affected dozens of high-profile politicians and business leaders including former President Barack Obama, Tesla founder Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Scammers hacked into the accounts, sending out tweets saying wealthy individuals would double any donations sent through bitcoin. But they pocketed whatever was sent, and took home well over $100,000 through the hack.

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The New York Times reports that the 16-year-old could have played an equal, if not more important role, in the hack. His Massachusetts home, where he lives with his parents, was reportedly searched by federal agents Tuesday, and the case could be passed on to Massachusetts authorities, who can more easily charge minors as adults.

Two other individuals, 22-year-old Nima Fazeli and 19-year-old Mason Sheppard, also were charged along with Clark on July 31.

The FBI said the investigation into the hack is ongoing, but that no one other than those three have been charged so far.

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"The FBI's investigation into the Twitter security incident that occurred on July 15, 2020 is ongoing,” a spokesperson for the FBI’s San Francisco field office said in a statement. "As of today's date, we do not have any additional information that we can make public in this case. The investigation is ongoing. While law enforcement activity continues, no other individuals have been arrested at this time.”

Clark was arrested on more than two dozen felony charges, including one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, and 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information. Sheppard was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and intentional access of a protected computer, while Fazeli was charged with aiding and abetting the intentional access of a protected computer.

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Twitter explained after the attack that hackers targeted Twitter employees through a “phone spear phishing attack,” meaning they acquired the sensitive credentials of certain employees and used the information to compromise Twitter’s system.