Elliott Gunton
{{Short description|British cybercriminal (born 1999)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elliott Gunton
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Elliott Gunton
| birth_date = {{circa}} {{birth year and age|1999}}
| birth_place = England
| other_names = Glubz
planet
| known_for = {{plainlist|
- TalkTalk security breach
- Telstra security breach
- EtherDelta cryptocurrency theft
- Social media account hijacking
}}
| criminal_status = Incarcerated
}}
Elliott Gunton (born {{circa}} 1999), also known by his online pseudonyms Glubz and planet,{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/cryptocurrency-thief-psycho-charged-in-brazen-digital-scheme/ |title=Alleged Cryptocurrency Thief 'Psycho' Charged In Brazen Digital Scheme |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=11 October 2019 |publisher=CBS}} is a convicted British cybercriminal from Norfolk.{{cite web |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/20772927.revealed-police-caught-teenage-hacker-made-400-000-bedroom/ |last=Gilbert |first=Dominic |title=Revealed: How police caught teenage hacker who made £400,000 from his bedroom |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=1 September 2019 |publisher=Eastern Daily Press}}
TalkTalk security breach
On 21 October 2015,{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/13/teenager-who-hacked-talktalk-website-given-rehabilitation-order |title=Teenager who hacked TalkTalk website given rehabilitation order |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=13 December 2016 |work=The Guardian}} Gunton engaged in a "sustained cyberattack" against British telecom company TalkTalk, stealing the names, addresses, e-mails, and bank details of its users.{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/19/elliott_gunton_400k_repay_instagram_hacking_telstra/ |last=Corfield |first=Gareth |title=Teen TalkTalk hacker ordered to pay £400k after hijacking popular Instagram account |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=19 August 2019 |publisher=The Register}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2015/10/22/talk_talk_security_breach/ |last=Corfield |first=Gareth |title=TalkTalk: Hackers may have nicked personal, banking info on 4 million Brits |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=22 October 2015 |publisher=The Register}}
During the subsequent search of his home, law enforcement found "indecent images of children" on Gunton's devices. He also confessed to targeting the websites of Manchester University and Cambridge University.
In November 2016, Gunton pleaded guilty to his role in the data breach, telling the youth court that he was "just showing off to [his] mates."{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2016/11/15/talktalk_h1_fy2017_results_hacker_teen_pleads_guilty/ |last=Corfield |first=Gareth |title=TalkTalk teen hacker pleads guilty as firm reveals £22m profit jump |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=15 November 2016 |publisher=The Register}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/26/talktalk_hacker_indicted_in_us/ |last=Oates |first=John |title=Now Uncle Sam would like a word with Brit teen TalkTalk hacker about a huge crypto-coin heist |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=26 September 2019 |publisher=The Register}}{{cite web |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/20770440.misguided---parents-teenage-hacker-moved-hoard-cryptocurrency-investigation/ |last=Gilbert |first=Dominic |title='Misguided' - parents of teenage hacker moved hoard of cryptocurrency during investigation |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=2 October 2019 |publisher=Eastern Daily Press}} He received a 12-month youth rehabilitation order.
August 2019 conviction
Gunton was again investigated in April 2019, after CCleaner was found on his computer during an unannounced police visit, which was in violation of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Through the investigation, he was found to have committed further crimes after his initial arrest, and in August 2019, he pleaded guilty to, in 2017 and 2018, laundering money, committing Computer Misuse Act crimes, and breaching a SHPO. He had also probed the websites of local high schools for vulnerabilities and illegally accessed Australian telecom company Telstra's systems, which he then used to gain access to the Instagram account @adesignersmind to send "grotesquely offensive" messages to the owner's customers.{{cite web |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/20784156.three-norwich-schools-probed-weakness-teenage-hacker/ |last=Gilbert |first=Dominic |title=Three Norwich schools probed for weakness by teenage hacker |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=5 April 2019 |publisher=Eastern Daily Press}}
During a search of Gunton's home, police discovered £407,359.35 in cryptocurrency, which he had allegedly acquired from selling the account details of Instagram users on cybercrime forums. He was sentenced to 20 months of imprisonment but was immediately released due to time served. Gunton's mother and father were given three- and five-month suspended sentences, respectively, for transferring the stolen funds.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-49878686 |title=TalkTalk hacker Elliott Gunton: Parents acted out of 'misguided loyalty' |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=2 October 2019 |publisher=BBC}}
After his conviction, Gunton's cryptocurrency was auctioned off, the "first ever on the instruction of a police force in the UK."{{cite web |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/20770636.historic-auction-ill-gotten-hoard-bitcoin-norwich-computer-hacker-earns-240-000/ |last=Gilbert |first=Dominic |title='Historic' auction of ill-gotten hoard of Bitcoin from Norwich computer hacker earns £240,000 |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=30 September 2019 |publisher=Eastern Daily Press}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-49880630 |title=TalkTalk hacker Elliott Gunton: Cryptocurrency auctioned by police |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=30 September 2019 |publisher=BBC}}
EtherDelta cryptocurrency theft
On 13 August 2019, Gunton and Anthony Tyler Nashatka ("psycho") of Michigan{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/michigan-resident-appears-bay-area-federal-court-hacking-charges |title=Michigan Resident Appears In Bay Area Federal Court On Hacking Charges |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=10 October 2019 |publisher=United States Department of Justice}} were indicted by a federal grand jury for their involvement in a December 2017 scheme to steal over US$1.4 million in Ethereum.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-49815601 |title=TalkTalk hacker Elliott Gunton accused of computer fraud in US |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=24 September 2019 |publisher=BBC}} The two were accused of simjacking the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange EtherDelta and using his access to redirect its users to a clone of EtherDelta, which would give Gunton and Nashatka details of cryptocurrency wallets that users had entered.{{cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-attorney-office-indicts-two-135320035.html |last=Stevens |first=Robert |title=US Attorney's Office indicts two suspects in EtherDelta hack |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=23 September 2019 |publisher=Yahoo News}}
In July 2024, Gunton was sentenced to {{frac|3|1|2}} years of imprisonment for his involvement in the scheme.{{cite web |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/24479291.talktalk-hacker-elliott-gunton-jailed-cryptocurrency-scam/ |last=Parkin |first=Simon |title=TalkTalk hacker Elliott Gunton jailed in cryptocurrency scam |access-date=2024-09-01 |date=26 July 2024 |publisher=Eastern Daily Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726154954/https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/24479291.talktalk-hacker-elliott-gunton-jailed-cryptocurrency-scam/ |archive-date=26 July 2024 |url-status=dead}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Hacking in the 2010s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunton, Elliott}}
Category:British cybercriminals
Category:Criminals from Norfolk
Category:English people convicted of child pornography offences