A 26-year-old cybercriminal from South Yorkshire has been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for orchestrating a global hacking campaign that compromised millions of user accounts and defaced government and news websites across multiple countries.
Al-Tahery Al-Mashriky from Rotherham was convicted on August 15, 2025, after pleading guilty to nine offences under the Computer Misuse Act.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation revealed the extensive scope of his cybercriminal activities, which targeted organisations in North America, Yemen, and Israel.
Al-Mashriky’s arrest in August 2022 resulted from intelligence sharing between US law enforcement and the NCA’s specialist cybercrime officers.
Investigators linked him to two prominent extremist hacker groups: the ‘Spider Team’ and the ‘Yemen Cyber Army’ through comprehensive analysis of his social media profiles and email communications.
Forensic examination of Al-Mashriky’s seized laptop and mobile devices uncovered evidence of systematic infiltration across government and media websites.
His primary targets included the Yemen Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Yemen Ministry of Security Media, and Israeli Live News, where he gained administrative access and downloaded entire website databases.
The hacker also targeted faith-based websites in Canada and the United States, along with the California State Water Board’s official platform.
His modus operandi involved exploiting websites with inadequate security measures, subsequently creating concealed webpages containing his online aliases and messaging that promoted his religious and political ideology.
Al-Mashriky boasted on cybercrime forums about compromising over 3,000 websites during a three-month period in 2022, seeking recognition within the hacking community for his prolific attack volume.
Massive Data Theft Operation Uncovered
The investigation revealed the true scale of Al-Mashriky’s data theft activities beyond website defacement.
NCA Digital Forensic Officers discovered he possessed personal information belonging to more than 4 million Facebook users stored on his devices.
Additionally, investigators found multiple documents containing login credentials for popular services including Netflix and PayPal, indicating preparation for potential identity fraud and financial crimes.
In one significant breach, Al-Mashriky penetrated Israeli Live News in February 2022, accessing administrative panels and downloading the complete website infrastructure.
His attacks on Yemeni government websites involved deploying specialized scanning tools to identify usernames and system vulnerabilities for future exploitation.
The stolen credentials and personal data represented a substantial threat to millions of individuals, with the potential for large-scale identity theft and fraudulent financial transactions.
International law enforcement collaboration enabled victim impact assessments, revealing significant operational costs and disruption caused by Al-Mashriky’s attacks.
Justice Delivered Through Advanced Cyber Investigation
Al-Mashriky initially faced 10 Computer Misuse Act charges when his trial was scheduled for March 2025 at Sheffield Crown Court.
However, he entered guilty pleas to nine offences on March 17, leading to his sentencing on August 15, 2025.
Deputy Director Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, emphasized the investigation’s significance in demonstrating law enforcement’s capability to pursue sophisticated cybercriminals.
“Al-Mashriky’s attacks crippled the websites targeted, causing significant disruption to their users and the organisations, just so that he could push the political and ideological views of the ‘Yemen Cyber Army’,” Foster stated.
The case highlights the evolving threat landscape posed by hacktivist groups operating across international boundaries.
Al-Mashriky’s conviction represents successful collaboration between UK and US authorities in dismantling transnational cybercriminal networks that leverage political motivations to justify widespread digital attacks and data theft operations.
The 20-month sentence reflects the serious nature of cybercrime offences and serves as a deterrent to other individuals considering similar activities.
Foster concluded: “Cybercrime can often appear faceless, with the belief that perpetrators hide in the shadows and can avoid detection.
However, this investigation shows the NCA has the technical capability to pursue and identify offenders like Al-Mashriky and bring them to justice”.
Find this Story Interesting! Follow us on LinkedIn and X to Get More Instant Updates.
.webp?w=356&resize=356,220&ssl=1 "Microsoft Teams Blocking Users from Accessing Embedded Office Documents")
