Snapchat Hacker Admits to Breaching 600 Women’s Accounts

Illinois Man Admits to Hacking Nearly 600 Women’s Snapchat Accounts

A 26-year-old man from Illinois has pleaded guilty to hacking the Snapchat accounts of almost 600 women to steal and distribute private photos. The defendant, Kyle Svara, confessed to phishing access codes from his victims between May 2020 and February 2021, gaining unauthorized access to at least 59 accounts.

Court documents reveal that Svara employed social engineering techniques to obtain victims’ personal information, including emails, phone numbers, and Snapchat usernames. He then impersonated Snap representatives to text over 4,500 targets, requesting access codes. By using these deceptive tactics, he successfully obtained credentials from approximately 570 victims and accessed 59 accounts to acquire compromising images.

Svara promoted his illicit activities on various online platforms, offering to hack Snapchat accounts for clients and trading stolen content. One of his clients was former Northeastern University track coach Steve Waithe, who hired Svara to hack the accounts of students and athletes. Waithe was sentenced to five years in prison for cyberstalking, cyber fraud, and sextortion after targeting at least 128 women.

Aside from his paid hacking jobs, Svara also independently targeted women in Plainfield, Illinois, and students at Colby College in Maine.

Svara now faces severe charges, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud, and making false statements related to child pornography. Despite initially denying any involvement in hacking Snapchat or child pornography, evidence contradicts his statements, showing his involvement in collecting, distributing, and soliciting child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

His sentencing is scheduled for May 18th in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy.

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