Snowflake hacker pleads guilty, faces up to 32 years in prison
A Canadian man is facing decades in prison for hacking customer accounts at cloud storage provider Snowflake and stealing data from more than 165 organizations.
Connor Riley Moucka, also known as “Waifu” and “Judische,” 26, of Kitchener, Ontario, pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington state to computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy. He is due to be sentenced on October 27 and faces up to 32 years in prison.
“Hiding behind a screen is no shield from justice,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Connor Moucka learned that when he was arrested just months after he began targeting U.S. companies, stealing sensitive information, and extorting victims for millions of dollars.”
Between April and September 2024, Moucka and his co-conspirators used stolen credentials to access customer accounts at Snowflake, steal data from more than 165 organizations, and demand ransom payments in exchange for not publishing or selling the stolen information.
Once inside, they downloaded terabytes of data, including non-content call and text records, banking and financial information, payroll records, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information.
The conspirators received more than $2.5 million in ransom payments. In one case, Moucka attempted to extort a victim a second time by threatening to disclose additional stolen data. The attempt involved personal information belonging to a government official and members of a former government official’s immediate family.
The group also advertised stolen data for sale on BreachForums, Exploit.in, XSS.is, and Telegram. Moucka personally received at least $495,000 from the scheme.
“The harm to the conspirators’ victims was much greater, with victim companies suffering over $9.5 million in actual losses — a number that does not include losses suffered by the companies’ customers, totaling at least 100 million individuals,” the Justice Department said.
Organizations publicly linked to the Snowflake campaign include AT&T, Ticketmaster, Santander, Advance Auto Parts, LendingTree, Neiman Marcus, Pure Storage, and Bausch Health.
“Connor Moucka’s threats and re-extortion tactics were calculated and predatory, and his actions did real harm to his victims, be they companies targeted for theft and extortion or the millions of everyday people who are their customers,” added W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle Field Office.