A 26-year-old hacker from the UK, Al-Tahery Al-Mashriky, was sentenced to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to a range of cybercrimes, including stealing millions of Facebook users’ data and hacking government and news websites. His attacks were politically motivated, aimed at pushing the agenda of extremist groups he was associated with.
Al-Tahery Al-Mashriky, a 26-year-old from Rotherham, UK, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for a series of cybercrimes that caused significant disruption and data breaches. His arrest in 2022 followed a tip from U.S. law enforcement, and he later pleaded guilty to nine charges under the Computer Misuse Act. Al-Mashriky was linked to extremist groups, including the “Spider Team” and the “Yemen Cyber Army,” and often used his hacking activities to promote their political and ideological views. The National Cyber Crime Unit (NCA) stated that his attacks “crippled the websites targeted,” highlighting the severity and impact of his actions.
Forensic evidence revealed the full extent of Al-Mashriky’s hacking spree. He successfully infiltrated and defaced multiple websites, including the Yemen Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Yemen Ministry of Security Media. He also deployed tools on these government sites to scan for vulnerabilities and steal login credentials. His activities weren’t limited to government targets; he also hacked an Israeli news outlet, “Israeli Live News,” where he accessed administrative pages and downloaded the entire site’s content. These actions underscore the range and sophistication of his hacking efforts, which were driven by a clear ideological agenda.
Al-Mashriky’s targets were not confined to the Middle East. He also focused on a variety of international and civilian organizations. Authorities found that he had targeted faith-based websites in Canada and the U.S. and even the California State Water Board website. In many cases, he defaced the sites, replacing their content with political or religious messages to broadcast his group’s views. This pattern of behavior demonstrates a deliberate attempt to cause chaos and promote propaganda, showing his attacks were not for financial gain but to spread a message.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of Al-Mashriky’s crimes was the sheer volume of personal data he compromised. The investigation revealed that he possessed stolen personal data for more than 4 million Facebook users. Additionally, he held stolen usernames and passwords for popular services like Netflix and PayPal. This massive data theft could have been used to commit widespread fraud, putting millions of individuals at risk. The NCA’s head of the National Cyber Crime Unit, Paul Foster, stated that this stolen data “could have enabled him to target and defraud millions of people,” underscoring the significant potential for harm.
Al-Mashriky was originally set to face trial for ten offenses under the Computer Misuse Act. However, he ultimately pleaded guilty to nine of them on March 17 of this year. His guilty plea resulted in a sentence of 20 months from Sheffield Crown Court. While he claimed on an online forum to have hacked over 3,000 websites, this figure could not be officially verified by the investigation. His conviction and sentencing serve as a reminder of the serious consequences that await those who engage in politically motivated hacking and large-scale data theft.
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