It seems as if hackers will always find a way of breaching even the most sophisticated and secure networks.
Take the case of Lin Mun Poo, the 32 year old Malaysian national who infiltrated FedComp – a network administered by the US Federal Reserve Bank – and stole payment card information.
The attack on FedComp enabled Lin to obtain sensitive card data from numerous credit unions across the U.S., as FedComp processes information from over 2,500 credit unions.
Fortunately for law enforcement officials, Lin travelled to the US where he was arrested just hours after arriving at New York’s JFK International Airport.
Actually, federal agents apprehended Lin shortly after watching him sell stolen card numbers at a Brooklyn diner for $1,000.
The Malaysian national was carrying an encrypted laptop that contained over 400,000 bank account, debit card and credit card numbers. Prosecutors allege that Lin had made a career penetrating the computer networks of financial institutions, corporations and defense contractors before putting the stolen data up for sale.
Lin was charged with aggravated identity theft, fraud, unauthorized access of government information and unlawful transmission of computer code.
However, Lin recently pleaded guilty to just one charge – access device fraud. He also admitted to infiltrating the Federal Reserve’s network and installing malicious computer code on one of the servers.
If found guilty on all charges, Lin could face up to 10 years in prison.
[Via The Register]
