The internet is a vast and borderless domain where no one person’s data is safe. Don’t believe us? Just recently, a Spanish court approved the extradition of a citizen that the U.S. claims hacked famous U.S. politicians including current President Biden and former President Obama. He also reportedly compromised the account of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The British citizen has been wanted since 2020. According to U.S. reports, the suspect allegedly compromised the Twitter accounts of several prominent politicians including former President Obama. He also hit accounts of other famous celebrities and notable individuals like Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, economic genius Warren Buffett, the iconic Kanye West, and Michael Bloomberg. Once the hacker gained access to these accounts, he solicited digital currency.

Considering that these promotions were coming from verified accounts, the incident caused a brief panic in the Twitterverse. To gain control of the situation, Twitter temporarily had to stop verified accounts from being able to publish messages.

The 22-year-old suspect, Joseph James O’Connor, was taken into custody in July of 2021 in Estepona, but only confirmed the United States extradition request in February of 2023.

One reason why the suspect has remained in jail and has not been transferred until now is because he has been objecting to proposed extraditions prior to this point.

Are You Facing International Internet Crimes?

Some people have referred to the internet as the “wild wild west,” and this description does have some accuracy to it. It’s important to note, however, that there are global rules and regulations that do monitor internet activity. That means you aren’t safe to commit crimes, hack accounts, or do any illicit activity while using the world wide web as cover. If you do this, then you could face criminal charges not only in your home country but abroad.

No one wants to get extradited to a new country to potentially face jail time.

If you’ve been accused of an international internet crime, then it’s imperative that you speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. You will soon have a hearing where your extradition will be discussed, and you don’t want to be left to defend yourself, especially if the country requesting your extradition is somewhere with subpar or notorious jails.

Here at Bukh Global, our team can help you defend yourself against internet crime charges. Leave your contact information on our online form now to schedule a consultation with our firm.