Hacker Steals 130 Million Credit Card Records
By Rick Hazeltine
Staff Editorial Writer
Albert Gonzalez, a 28-year-old computer hacker charged as the leader in what many consider the largest identity theft cases in U.S. history, pleaded guilty and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in December 2009.
Gonzalez, of Miami, admitted being behind an identity theft ring that stole as many as 130 million credit and debit card records from major retailers in several states. Many of the records were sold to co-conspirators in Russia and Latvia.
According to the indictments filed in New York and Massachusetts, Gonzalez used a hacking technique called "wardriving," in which an identity thief drives through areas with a laptop computer in search of retailers' accessible wireless Internet signals. Once they locate a vulnerable network, according to a story by the Associated Press, "sniffer programs" are installed that capture credit and debit card numbers as they move through a retailer's processing computers.
The list of companies that had customers' data stolen was as impressive as it was troubling. Victims included: TJX Cos. (owners of TJMaxx and Marshalls), OfficeMax, Dave & Buster's restaurants, BJ's Wholesale Club (located on the East Coast), Boston Market, Barnes and Noble, Sport's Authority, 7-Eleven and supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers.
"In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic growth in the transfer and storage of credit and debit card data on computer networks," Michael Loucks, the acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said in a statement. "It is important that we work hard to investigate and prosecute the theft of personal identity data that citizens entrust to computer networks every day."
As part of his guilty plea, Gonzalez will forfeit more than $1.65 million, a Miami condominium, a 2006 BMW automobile, laptop computers and related equipment, a Glock 27 firearm, a Nokia cell phone, a Tiffany diamond ring and three Rolex watches.
At a hearing in Boston, a prosecutor identified conspirators who previously pleaded guilty in Boston, Pennsylvania, California and Turkey.
"This is the largest and most costly identity theft in U.S. history," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann told U.S. District Judge Patti Saris, the Bloomberg News Service reported.
