Hacker Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy In Credit-Card Data Theft

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Albert Gonzalez pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hack into computer networks of major U.S. retail and financial organizations and to steal data related to tens of millions of credit and debit cards.

Prosecutors have called it the largest credit and debit card data breach ever charged in the U.S.

According to the plea agreement, Gonzalez, 28, of Miami will be sentenced to between 17 and 25 years in prison and his sentences in two separate cases will run concurrently.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to two counts of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to the payment card networks operated by, among others, Heartland Payment Systems Inc. (HPY), a New Jersey-based card processor; 7-Eleven, a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co., a Maine-based supermarket chain.

Gonzalez, also known as "segvec," "soupnazi" and "j4guar17," in September also pleaded guilty to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers, including TJX Cos. (TJX), BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ), OfficeMax Inc. (OMX), Boston Market, Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) and Sports Authority Inc. (TSA). In addition, he pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to hacks into the Dave & Buster's Inc. (DAB) restaurant chain.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 18 and 19 in Boston, where he remains in custody.

According to information contained in the plea agreement, Gonzalez leased or controlled several servers and allowed other hackers access to them, knowing they would use them to store malicious software and launch attacks against corporate victims.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [e-mail]