Notorious hacker Albert Gonzalez agrees to plead guilty to having a role in the theft of data from millions of credit and debit cards. Gonzalez, who has been tied by authorities to a cyber-crimewave that hit companies from Heartland Payment Systems to Hannaford Bros., now faces up to 25 years in prison.Reputed hacker Albert
Gonzalez, the
Miami man tied by investigators
to several major data breaches, has agreed to plead guilty to a
variety of charges, according to reports.
Under the plea agreement,
Gonzalez, 28, will face a maximum of 25 years in prison. According to
authorities, he is at the center of a ring of cyber-thieves who swiped
credit and debit card information from companies ranging from Heartland to
Barnes & Noble.
The deal reportedly covers
charges in
New York and
Massachusetts. Additional charges are still
pending in New Jersey.
Gonzalez and 10 other
people from five countries were charged in 2008 with stealing 41 million credit
and debit card numbers from several retailers, including Barnes & Noble,
Boston Market, OfficeMax and
TJX Companies. Roughly two weeks ago, he
was indicted againthis time in federal district court in
New Jerseyfor hacking into Heartland Payment
System, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Bros. and making off with more than 130 million
card numbers.
The indictment filed
against Gonzalez in
New Jersey
painted
the picture of a sophisticated cyber-crime ring. Gonzalez and his cohorts
breached the corporations security with SQL injection attacks and then planted
malware on the companies systems to intercept card data.
When they announced the
indictment in New Jersey, U.S. Department of Justice officials
said the success of the investigation was in part due to the companies taking a
proactive approach to working with law enforcement.
This investigation
marks the continued success of law enforcement in tracking down cutting edge
hacking schemes committed by hackers working together across the globe, said
Ralph J. Marra Jr., acting U.S. Attorney, in a statement.
| | Reader Comments: Hacker Agrees to Guilty Plea in Massive Data Breach Case | | >>> Post your comment now!
| | Credit MonitoringThis points out that people should have access to their credit reports as a matter of course, for free. There are so many breaches and the time to... Posted At: 09-04-09 By: Chuck | | | | | | consultant - ha!Reportedly this joker has been "working as a consultant"! Don't think they can ever be trusted.
However, you bring up a good point that... Posted At: 09-03-09 By: Anonymous | | | | | | Better solutionRather than execution, I would prefer to see them lobotomized so they can't spread the ability to others to do the same thing. Letting the fox into... Posted At: 09-03-09 By: Anonymous | | | | | | A user comment on this articleWell, let's use that same approach for all criminal offenses!
Good grief people get real. Someone like this should be utilized by these companies... Posted At: 09-03-09 By: Rich VE | | | | | | hear! hear!Chris is absolutely right! I have touted the same punishment in public before and the incredulous looks I get are humorous. We have got to make it... Posted At: 09-02-09 By: bob vance | | | | | | A user comment on this articleI think they all should be sent to the front lines of combat for the duration of the war. If they survive, then they can serve the rest of their... Posted At: 09-01-09 By: Retired_MSgt | | | | | | Shoot HimThe hacker should be shot. Make the consequence of the action so severe that all cyberpukes may change their activity. Posted At: 09-01-09 By: Chris from Colorado | | | | | | >>> Post your comment now! | | | | | |
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