TJX Hacker Sentenced To 30 Years In Turkish Prison

A Turkish court has sent one of the TJX hackers to prison for 30 years for his role in a rash of war-driving WiFi hacks on retailers that resulted in the theft of more than 40 million credit and debit cards.

Maksym "Maksik" Yastremskiy, 25, from Ukraine, was allegedly responsible for tens of millions of dollars in data theft worldwide. He's one of 11 men charged with stealing more than 40 million customer credit and debit card numbers from OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21, DSW, BJ's Wholesale Club, and TJX. Yastremskiy was arrested outside of a Turkish nightclub in 2007 during an undercover operation.

The gang, which spanned the U.S., Ukraine, China, and Estonia, reportedly "sniffed" out vulnerable WiFi networks of various stores and installed malware that lifted customers' data and credit card numbers.

"Thirty years is, of course, a very severe prison sentence for anyone to receive, and one that should give some people reason to reflect," blogged Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, who also warned cybercriminals that authorities are getting better at cooperating worldwide to catch them. "Stop now. The rewards for cybercrime can sometimes be large, but you are at risk of ruining the rest of your life -- and causing years of misery for your family and friends."

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