Canadian hacker Connor Moucka pleads guilty in US Snowflake breach
Connor Riley Moucka, a 26‑year‑old from Kitchener, Ontario, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy for a large‑scale hack of the Snowflake cloud data platform. The campaign compromised more than 165 organizations, exposing billions of records belonging to at least 100 million individuals, including call‑and‑text logs, financial information, driver’s‑license and passport numbers, and other personal data.
Moucka and his co‑conspirators extorted the victims, collecting roughly $2.5 million in ransom payments, of which Moucka personally received at least $495 000. The affected companies suffered over $9.5 million in direct losses. He faces up to 30 years in prison, with a mandatory two‑year minimum for aggravated identity theft. Moucka was arrested in Canada and extradited to the United States with assistance from police forces in Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, Spain and Australia. Snowflake has since tightened security, enforcing multi‑factor authentication for its customers.
Entities: AT&T · Canada · Connor Moucka · Connor Riley Moucka · Kitchener, Ontario · Snowflake Inc. · Ticketmaster · U.S. Department of Justice
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 10 SOURCES] Moucka faces up to 30 years in prison, with a mandatory two‑year minimum for aggravated identity theft. (U.S. Department of Justice sentencing guidelines)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The hacking campaign compromised more than 165 organizations using Snowflake cloud data services. (Multiple news articles citing DOJ indictment)
- [● 6 SOURCES] Targeted companies suffered more than $9.5 million in direct losses from the breaches. (DOJ statements and court filings)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Moucka was arrested in Canada and extradited to the United States with assistance from police in Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, Spain and Australia. (DOJ press release and international law‑enforcement cooperation reports)
- [● 6 SOURCES] The extortion scheme generated about $2.5 million in ransom payments, with Moucka personally receiving at least $495 000. (DOJ indictment and court documents)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The breach exposed records belonging to at least 100 million individuals. (DOJ press release and investigative reporting)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The attackers stole billions of sensitive records, including call and text logs, financial data, and government IDs. (DOJ indictment and Mandiant investigation)
- [● 10 SOURCES] Connor Riley Moucka pleaded guilty to computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy in a U.S. federal court. (U.S. Department of Justice press release and multiple news reports)