Hacker Gonzalez Sentenced to 20 Years

InformationWeek reports that a U.S. federal court in Boston has sentenced hacker Albert Gonzalez to 20 years in prison and $25,000 in fines for his role in the security breaches of Barnes & Noble, OfficeMax, BJs Wholesale Club, TJX and other retailers.

According to ChannelWeb, Gonzalez could receive even more jail time when he is sentenced today in a separate case involving the theft of as many as 130 million credit and debit card numbers from Heartland Payment Systems, the 7-Eleven convenience store chain and supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. He could receive another 17 to 25 years in prison.

IT Business Edge blogger Lora Bentley reported on an ironic twist in the cases against Gonzalez: He committed his crimes while working as an informant for the U.S. Secret Service. He was paid as much as $75,000 a year to help catch bank card thieves.