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America's biggest card fraud: 130 million numbers stolen
28 year old American Albert Gonzales and his 2 yet unnamed Russian conspirators have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in what appears to be America’s biggest case of credit card data theft.
Gonzales and his gang are believed to have spent considerable time researching credit and debit card networks, before finally exploiting them with what is believed to be a complex form of SQL injection. It is believed they were able to then hack into the payment systems of a number of stores, such as convenience store seven, eleven. Although SQL injection can be a simple process to run, and is often favoured by ‘script kiddies’; who are able to run simple commands or even buy code from websites; Gonzales method was deemed to be a more complex and well researched attack.
Data was stolen and sent to services in California, Illinois, the Netherlands, Latvia and the Ukraine. Gonzales is believed to have sold the data on to others, rather than use it himself, an action which enables others to make fraudulent purchases. The thefts occurred between October 2006 and May 2008, and are believed to have led to the compromise of 130 million separate card numbers and details.
Gonzales is already being held in custody because of his suspected involvement in the TJ Maxx data theft; where 40 million cards were believed to have been compromised. A conviction in this case would result in a 20 year jail term for Gonzales.
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