August 17, 2009
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News: 3 Arrested in Heartland Breach
Authorities have arrested three individuals in the Heartland Payment Systems breach that compromised millions of credit card accounts information. One of the individuals arrested is no stranger to the identity theft and credit card theft world. Albert Gonzalez was previously arrested on several different cases and is awaiting trial. Gonzales has been indicted in connection to the Dave & Guster's data theft case as well as the TJ Maxx stores debit and credit card theft and data breach. Arrested along with Gonzales were two Russian nationals. The ring is also responsible for hacking into the computer systems of 7-Eleven Inc, Hannaford Brothers Grocery Stores, and two additional unnamed large retailers. According to the authorities, the three individuals arrested are only the beginning which should lead to more indictments.
The criminals apparently acquired the lists of Fortune 500 companies, visited their stores and observed their electronic payment systems to determine which electronic payment system the company used. They also hacked into their online sites which had flaws in their programming language. Sniffer programs were place on the corporate networks to intercept the credit card information during transactions. The sniffer program then transmitted the information to other computers placed strategically in the U.S., the Netherlands, and the Ukraine. More than 130 million debit and credit card numbers were stolen during the process. The group used some of the numbers to make unauthorized purchases and cash withdrawals. The balance of the numbers were then sold online.
At one time, Gonzalez had cooperated with Federal Officials in a previous investigation in 2003. Gonzalez had been arrested on hacking charges and cooperated with the U.S. Secret Service in apprehending criminals associated with an online credit card theft ring in New Jersey. Officials from the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey, say that these latest arrests clearly demonstrate that Gonzalez did stray far from his criminal world and former cohorts. Gonzalez used the online pseudonyms "Segvec" and "Soupnazi" to conduct his illegal activities. Gonzalez will need to first face his previous indictment trials before learning his fate in the trial of one of the largest breaches in the industry.