Hacker Pleads Guilty in Largest ID Theft Case In US History
September 13th, 2009 | 
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Friday in Miami, 28 year old Albert Gonzalez admitted he led an international ring that stole 40 million credit card and debit card records from US retailers like TMJ, BJs warehouse, and OfficeMax. One of many states he has been charged with cyber crimes I might add.
“He wants to put this behind him,” Gonzalez’s attorney Rene Palomino said in an interview. “He’s extremely remorseful for what he’s done. If he could turn time back, he would. It’s affected him and his family very much.”
Why do I find his remorse so empty?
Gonzalez was arrested in 2003 by authorities in New Jersey and began secretly cooperating with the U.S. Secret Service. In pleading guilty to the entire Boston indictment, he admitted using sensitive law enforcement information to “warn off conspirators and ensure that they would not be identified and arrested in the course of that investigation.”
Cyber crimes are one of the highest increasing crime rates in the world and getting them prevented is becoming more and more difficult as hackers change their methods and become more evolved in hiding their identities. Authorities are putting their resources solving these types of crimes to the forefront, even establishing whole teams dedicated solely to cyber-criminals. So what are we as individuals to do to help protect ourselves from these faceless criminals?
We can do these simple things to help protect ourselves.
- Be sure you have anti-virus on your computers and firewalls to help protect against unwanted viruses, trojans etc. and make sure you keep it updated on on an automatic scan to keep your computer clean.
- Don't click on links in emails that you don't know the sender of. They may take you to a virus or trojan that can make you vulnerable.
- Don't go to strange or unknown websites. Hackers can attach these type of viruses in websites making it infect your system just by visiting the site.
Microsoft has even taken an unexpected step in now planning to release their Microsoft Security Essentials to its users, free! The program which works with Windows 7, Vista and XP is scheduled to be released free by this years end. It is a basic antivirus program that searches your downloads for malware and attempts to prevent sneak downloads from websites. Many of us currently use McAfee or Nortons which are paid services of this type. Microsofts free release is not expected to decrease their sales. Microsoft merely wants to help increase protection for those that do not suscribe to these paid services, or merely use the 30-90 day free trial versions that come with new computers, never renewing them and leaving their computers totally unprotected.
As for Mr. Gonzalez, one of hundreds that have been charged in cyber-crimes in recent history, is his punishment going to truly dissuade other cyber-criminals? He is expected to serve 15-25 years and has already paid back $1.65 million along with some physical properties and items. For this criminal specifically, it doesn't seem to me like enough time. This guy has helped steal 100's of millions of records costing them an undisclosed, even higher amount of dollars. This guy had his "second chance" when he was arrested in 2003 and used his "informant" type status merely to protect other criminals. I feel alot of our laws are now given proper penalties, and this one is definitely one of them!
I leave with one question....Is your computer protected?
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I’d like to expand on this with more tips. Other easy steps you can take to help protect yourself including opening up a new web browser before going to high risk sites such as your bank and paypal. It can be very bad for you if someone gets your password for one of those sites. If you store passwords in your web browser create a security code so someone needs a password to get your passwords. Browser security is generally weak but it’s not too much of a nuisance and it makes it that much harder to get your passwords. Create strong passwords: Why you need strong passwords and how to protect them . Do not use the same password for all of your banking kinds of web sites. Don’t answer the forum threads that potentially reveal your answers to common security questions. Do not connect to sites that require your password (http or https) when using an open wireless connection. Other people connected to the network can literally snatch your passwords out of the air. If I do need to connect to an open wireless network I VPN back to my work so at least the open air part of my connection is encrypting all of my web and email traffic.