Albert Gonzalez Gets Twenty Years Jail Sentence

Albert Gonzalez, a famous computer hacker also known as TJK hacker, was sentenced for 20 years of imprisonment in America's largest cyber crime ever on March 25, 2010.

Before the announcement of sentence, Albert Gonzalez pleaded guilty in the court for the crime, as reported by merinews on March 26, 2010. He also felt guilty of ruining his personal relationship due to his involvement in the crime. He categorically said that he blamed himself for violating the sanctity of parents' home by using it for illegal gains.

During earlier hearings of the case, Gonzalez argued that he didn't run "Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin" for not any illicit intention, but driven by his obsession of conquering computer networks and technical inquisitiveness. However, his argument proved baseless when a chat log exemplified that he had a wish of earning $15 Million, purchasing a yacht and then retire (which he revealed to his accomplice during chat session).

Prosecutors told to the court that Gonzalez was the leader of hackers' gang which launched campaigns of identifying retailers that have weak wireless network. The group then hacked the network and injected malicious programs to annex numbers of millions of debt and credit cards. This process is slightly easier because the cards were zapped to payment processors.

After harnessing the credit card numbers, the group sold their numbers in the market. They encoded the data on the magnetic strips of blank cards and use them for withdrawing several thousands dollars at a time from ATMs. They also laundered the stolen money using anonymous Internet-based currencies in the United States and other overseas countries. They also channeled the money through bank accounts in Eastern Europe.

The group targeted a number of restaurants and retailers that include TJX Cos. and BJ's Wholesale Club, Dave & Busters restaurant chain, Barnes & Noble and Office Max. The pronouncement of sentence came on the very same day when Dave & Busters revealed that it would implement a comprehensive security application against charges of the US Federal Trade Commission that the restaurant left its customers vulnerable to credit card cyber criminals.

» SPAMfighter News - 4/3/2010