Ed Sheeran: Hacker who stole singer's unreleased music is jailed

A hacker who stole 2 unreleased songs from Ed Sheeran and sold them connected the acheronian web has been jailed for 18 months.

Adrian Kwiatkowski traded the euphony by Sheeran and 12 songs by rapper Lil Uzi Vert successful speech for cryptocurrency.

The 23-year-old, from Ipswich, managed to get clasp of them aft hacking the performers' integer accounts, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Kwiatkowski admitted 19 charges, including copyright infringement and possessing transgression property.

He had made £131,000 from the music, City of London Police said.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that erstwhile the defendant's Apple Mac laptop was searched, 565 audio files, including the songs by Sheeran and Vert, were uncovered.

An probe was initially launched by US authorities successful 2019.

It came aft the absorption of respective musicians reported to the New York District Attorney that idiosyncratic known online arsenic Spirdark had hacked a fig of accounts and was selling the content.

The probe linked the email code utilized to acceptable up Spirdark's cryptocurrency relationship to Kwiatkowski. His location code successful the UK was besides linked to an IP code utilized to hack 1 of the devices.

The lawsuit was past referred to the City of London Police and Kwiatkowski was arrested successful September 2019.

According to police, 7 devices, including a hard thrust that contained 1,263 unreleased songs by 89 artists, were seized.

A papers saved connected the hard thrust summarised the method helium had utilized to get them on with a stash of Bitcoin which was seized.

Chief crown authoritative Joanne Jakymec said Kwiatkowski had "complete disregard" for the musicians' creativity, hard enactment and mislaid earnings.

"He selfishly stole their euphony to marque wealth for himself by selling it connected the acheronian web," she said.

"We volition beryllium pursuing ill-gotten gains from these proceeds of crime."

In August, Kwiatkowski pleaded blameworthy astatine Ipswich Magistrates Court to 3 charges of unauthorised entree to machine material, 14 charges of selling copyrighted material, 1 complaint of converting transgression spot and 2 charges of possession of transgression property.

He besides admitted receiving bitcoin cryptocurrency for the songs.

Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt said Kwiatkowski was highly skilled but it was unfortunate helium utilized his talents unlawfully.

"Not lone did helium origin respective artists and their accumulation companies important fiscal harm, helium deprived them of the quality to merchandise their ain work," helium added.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr said the lawsuit showed "cybercrime knows nary borders".

"This idiosyncratic executed a analyzable strategy to bargain unreleased euphony successful bid to enactment his ain pockets," helium said.