TJX hacker pleads guilty in major ID theft case
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The hacker involved in a massive data breach at TJX Companies has pleaded guilty to identity theft and fraud for the theft of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from TJX and other retailers.
Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty in Massachusetts to 19 charges related to the hacking of computer systems at TJX and retailers including Barnes & Noble. He also pleaded guilty to a charge brought in the Eastern District of New York for hacking into the systems of the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain.
Gonzalez is still on the hook for charges brought against him in New Jersey, for his alleged involvement in another major identity theft case. Prosecutors said he was involved in the hacking of Heartland Payment Systems and several retailers including Hannaford and 7 Eleven.
According to the indictments, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators broke into retail credit card payment systems through a series of sophisticated techniques, including "wardriving" - driving around with a laptop to locate wireless networks of target companies - and installation of sniffer programs to capture credit and debit card numbers used at these retail stores.
Gonzalez faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison for the Massachusetts and New York convictions. He will be sentenced in December.
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