{
  "id": 231584,
  "title": "Canadian Man Pleads Guilty in Snowflake Extortions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/canadian-man-pleads-guilty-in-snowflake-extortions",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-06T17:00:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KrebsOnSecurity",
    "slug": "krebsonsecurity",
    "url": "https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/08/canadian-man-pleads-guilty-in-snowflake-extortions/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Connor Riley Moucka, a 26-year-old Canadian man from Kitchener, Ontario, has pleaded guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy to hack and extort over 165 organizations that utilize cloud data storage provider Snowflake. Moucka, also known by the aliases \"Judische\" and \"Waifu,\" admitted to stealing call and text history records of more than 100 million AT&T customers. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Moucka and his co-conspirators used stolen login credentials to steal cloud-hosted data from at least 165 Snowflake customer accounts that lacked multi-factor authentication. The hackers targeted well-known companies, including TicketMaster, Lending Tree, Advance Auto Parts, and Neiman Marcus, extorting or attempting to extort massive sums of money. Snowflake responded to the data thefts by enhancing password complexity and enforcing multi-factor authentication. Moucka frequently changed his aliases, sometimes operating multiple identities simultaneously, but two of his most recognizable names were \"Judische\" and \"Waifu.\" This role in the Snowflake data thefts was first reported by KrebsOnSecurity in September 2024. Moucka was arrested in Canada after just over a month, and the government claims he and others stole billions of sensitive customer records, including non-content call and text history records, banking and financial information, payroll records, DEA registration numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, social security numbers, and other personally identifiable information. The conspirators allegedly extorted victims by threatening to publish the stolen data online, generating over $2.5 million in ransom payments. Moucka also re-extorted victims, including government officials and a former government official's family members. One of his co-conspirators, Cameron \"Kiberphant0m\" Wagenius, a U.S. Army soldier, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to extorting AT&T and Verizon for customer account data. The third alleged co-conspirator, John Erin Binns, an elusive American man, has since been released from Turkish prison and obtained Turkish citizenship, making extradition to the U.S. legally challenging. Moucka faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a maximum penalty of 30 years for the remaining counts, with sentencing scheduled for October 27, 2025.",
  "summary": "A 26-year-old Canadian man once described as one of the most consequential cybercrime threat actors of 2024 has pleaded guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy to hack and extort more than 165 organizations that used the cloud data storage provider Snowflake. Connor Riley Moucka, of Kitchener, Ontario, also admitted to stealing call and text history records of more than 100 million AT&T customers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}