In a significant federal case unfolding in Boston, Kyle Svara, 26, a resident of Illinois, has admitted guilt for operating a phishing scheme that leveraged impersonation of Snapchat support to infiltrate the private accounts of numerous women. Svara used deceitful social engineering strategies to obtain Snapchat users’ login information and one-time security codes. These tactics allowed him to bypass the platform's authentication measures, granting him unauthorized access to personal content including nude and semi-nude photographs.
Svara formally accepted responsibility for his actions in court on Wednesday, facing charges that encompass computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. His scheme targeted hundreds of Snapchat users, with prosecutors confirming he obtained security codes from 571 women and successfully penetrated at least 59 accounts.
Evidence presented in court revealed that the stolen images were not merely accessed but were subsequently stored, sold, or exchanged across various online forums. Svara actively advertised his hacking capabilities on platforms such as Reddit, offering to breach Snapchat profiles and distribute the pilfered content either for direct use or trade purposes.
The federal plea agreement includes a recommendation for a prison term of three years, with Svara's sentencing date set for May 18. Todd Pugh, Svara’s attorney, remarked that his client has acknowledged the severity of his wrongdoing both privately and publicly, describing the guilty plea as a pivotal step toward accountability.
The phishing operation was active from May 2020 through February 2021. During this period, Svara sent deceptive messages impersonating Snapchat support representatives, misleading users into surrendering their private login credentials and security verification codes. This breach exploited Snapchat's security protocols designed to protect against unauthorized access.
Further compounding the gravity of the case, court documents disclose ties between Svara and former Northeastern University track-and-field coach Steve Waithe. In 2020, Waithe allegedly hired Svara to hack the Snapchat accounts of women personally acquainted with the coach or under his supervision, compensating him approximately $50 per compromised account. Waithe has since been sentenced to five years in prison, with allegations involving the coercion and theft of intimate images from 56 women across the United States.
The developments from this case coincided with Snap Inc.'s release of its fourth-quarter financial results. The company revealed earnings of three cents per share, surpassing expectations which had forecasted a loss. Moreover, its revenue rose more than 10 percent year over year to reach $1.72 billion during the quarter. However, daily active users experienced a slight decline from 477 million to 474 million.
Following the earnings announcement and the news of Svara's guilty plea, Snap's share price fell 3.11 percent, closing at $5.91. In after-hours trading, shares modestly rebounded 2.88 percent to $6.08. Despite these movements, analysis from Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings categorizes Snap as displaying a weak price trend across multiple time horizons and notes a low momentum score, signaling continued challenges in its stock performance.
This case underlines vulnerabilities within social media platforms to social engineering exploits that compromise user security and privacy. It reflects ongoing risks that technology companies like Snap face in protecting their users' data and maintaining user trust amidst sophisticated phishing and identity theft schemes.