ATM Hacker Sentenced to Twenty Year Prison Term for Credit Card Theft

March 26, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

Both companies large and small, as well as home computer users, lose millions of dollars a year, thanks to the electronic theft of credit card information. A bane for businesses who risk incurring the ire of consumers, the number of reported cases only continues to increase, as technology becomes more and more embedded into our daily lives. In a small victory for all parties involved, accused hacker, Albert Gonzalez, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea regarding the credit card theft crimes with which he was charged.

A Miami, FL native and 28-year old college drop, Gonzalez admitted his part in the operation of a credit card crime ring whose reach circled the globe. Among the list of companies affected, at least in part, by his hacking activities, is TJX Cos Inc (the operator of such well-known stores as Marshall’s and TJMaxx), Barnes & Noble, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Gonzalez and his accomplices managed to steal somewhere around 40 million payment card numbers, by breaking into the company’s websites.

Aside from being a victory in the fight against the increasingly alarming rate of hacking incidents, the sentence handed down to Gonzalez also becomes the longest prison sentence for a US-prosecuted computer crime. During the court proceedings, held in Boston, Gonzalez said he could not say exactly how much money he actually stole, throughout the course of his involvement. It is estimated, though, that total bill of the crime ring’s activities totaled somewhere around $200 million dollars.

According to U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann, the group would “…go to ATMs and take out bundles of money from victims’ accounts.” In his defense, Gonzalez told the court he was, among other things, the victim of computer addiction and alcohol abuse. The sentence issued is just short of the 25-year maximum sentence that can be given for the type of crimes committed by Gonzalez and his co-conspirators. Gonzalez faces another sentencing on Friday, when he will appear before another court to face the same type of charges. These, though, involve an entirely different list of victim companies that includes Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven, and a chain of New England-based Hannaford grocery stores.

In his comments, Heymann also said, “What matters most is that teenagers and young adults not look up to Albert Gonzalez. They need to know that they will be caught. That they will be punished and that the punishment will be severe.” While it is a truthful statement, recent history has shown it to be very difficult to track down and prosecute alleged hackers, due to the fact that not all countries have hacking-related laws that are similar to those of the United States. To this end, some countries don’t have any laws on the subject at all. Ultimately, justice systems around the world will have to catch up quickly in order to stem the rising tide of electronic crimes that occur each year.

Source: Reuters – http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O4PO20100325?type=technologyNews