A grand jury in the United States has indicted a man for allegedly hacking into the computers of retail and financial firms and stealing the details of over 130 million credit and debit cards.
“This investigation marks the continued success of law enforcement in tracking down cutting-edge hacking schemes committed by hackers working together across the globe,” acting US attorney Ralph Marra said in a statement.
The man allegedly attacked the computer systems of Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers.
The indictment against Albert Gonzales claims that he and alleged co-conspirators used sophisticated hacking techniques to avoid detection, including connecting to corporate computer systems through “proxy” servers, testing whether different antivirus programs would detect their actions and using malware to erase any sign of their presence.
The maximum penalties for the defendants include up to 35 years in prison and either a $US1 million fine, or twice the amount of cash gained illegally.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
