Kitchener man pleads guilty in U.S. to hacking charges: DOJ
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
OTTAWA – A Kitchener, Ont., man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a hacking attack on a U.S.-based cloud services company that compromised more than 165 organizations, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
The department said in news release that Connor Moucka, 26, conspired with other hackers and stole sensitive information online from the U.S.-based software service, then extorted victims by demanding ransom payments.
The department said Moucka entered a guilty plea Wednesday on four counts of his indictment, including computer and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
He’s scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 27 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on the remaining counts, the department said.
The department said he and others involved in the “widespread computer hacking conspiracy” stole billions of “sensitive customer records” and advertised the breached data for sale on cybercrime forums. The Department of Justice did not name any of the companies involved.
According to the indictment filed in court, Moucka and his co-conspirators extorted funds paid out in cryptocurrency worth approximately $2.5 million at the time.
Companies involved in the incident included major U.S.-based telecommunications, retail and health care firms, the indictment said.
The department said the Canadian man used the data obtained through the security breach to extort — and in at least in one case “re-extort” — victims of the conspiracy.
Moucka himself obtained at least $495,000, the Department of Justice release said. It said companies that were targeted lost more than $9.5 million, a figure that does not include any losses incurred by their customers.
The department said Moucka was arrested and extradited from Canada last year following an FBI investigation that received international assistance from police in Canada, Turkey, Ukraine, Spain and Australia.
DOJ records on the case said Moucka surrendered himself for extradition in March of last year and initially pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2026.