Hacker jailed over Subway store POS attack

09 January 2013 | 4669 views | 1 Spiders computer virus

A Romanian man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for his part in a scam that saw the point-of-sale systems of hundreds of US Subway sandwich shops hacked, thousands of cards compromised and millions of dollars stolen.

Having pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud in September, Cezar Butu was sentenced this week. His co-conspirator Iulian Dolan will be sentenced in April, having also pleaded guilty and agreeing a seven years term.

The pair were part of a four-man gang that between 2009 and 2011 remotely hacked the POS systems of more than 200 retail outlets, including 150 Subway stores, say authorities.

According to court documents, Butu and his co-conspirators used the stolen data to make unauthorised charges on and transfers of funds from, cardholders' accounts. He has admitted to repeatedly asking an alleged fellow gang member to provide him with stolen card data and receiving instructions for how to access a Web site where some of it was stored.

According to his plea agreement, he also attempted to sell, or otherwise transfer, the data to others. Butu admitted to acquiring information from around 140 cardholders.

A third alleged co-conspirator Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea is set to go on trial next month.

Comments: (1)

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Paul Vieros - Placard Pty Ltd - Melbourne | 10 January, 2013, 04:44

What is the deterrent if after 21 months this fraudster comes out to a few million? And what about the compromised card holders who potentially have their Identities compromised...with all the baggage this entails! Lastly what about the reputational impact on the merchant?

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