Credit card hacker Albert Gonzalez: Mastermind or fall guy?
Lawyers for Albert Gonzalez, accused of carrying out the biggest series of credit and debit card data thefts in history, appear close to formally admitting his involvement. But they maintain he was merely an associate rather than the mastermind.
Gonzalez was this week charged with stealing details of 130 million cards from processing firm Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven, two other national retailers and a regional supermarket. He was already in custody awaiting two separate trials involving data theft from the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain and clothes retailer TJ Maxx.
Details emerging since the latest charge paint Gonzalez as a self-taught computer genius. He was arrested in 2003 over hacking claims but officials decided not to charge him as he agreed to become an informer; it now appears he double-crossed them.
With tales of Gonzalez complaining about having to count $340,000 in $20 bills by hand after his counting machine broke, one security consultant with an ear for a good headline described him this week as “the Tony Montana of credit card theft.”
However, Gonzalez’ lawyer is attempting to negotiate a plea bargain. He says he is “prepared to argue” that the heists detailed in this week’s charges were in fact masterminded by Damon Patrick Toey, one of Gonzalez’ fellow accused in the TJ Maxx case.
Meanwhile there’s a theory that the real leaders are based overseas (this week’s indictment also lists two unnamed Russians), with Gonzalez taking the rap because he’s based in the same country as the firms which were attacked. James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says it’s likely Gonzalez was not so much a Scarface, but rather a bagman.
That raises the prospect that a Gonzalez conviction would not necessarily do much to reduce the threat of credit card fraud and identity theft, particularly if the techniques he allegedly used remain viable.
Related Posts:
August 20th, 2009
Hopefully Mr. Gonzalez’s actions can have a beneficial effect. Companies can learn to better protect our sensitive information, and consumers can learn just how vigilant they need to be in regards to their finances. It might be a lot to ask, but I think some good can come from this.
Of course its hard when it oftentimes seem like our best and brightest minds would rather go into the criminal side of the computing world, than the legitimate one.
Check out my blog on Mr. Gonzalez and his actions at…. http://www.thedebtgazette.com/2009/08/miami-hacker-creditcards/