Hacker Agrees to Guilty Plea in Massive Data Breach Case
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 again—this time in federal district court in New Jersey—for hacking into Heartland Payment System, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Bros. and making off with more than 130 million card numbers.
