One of the hackers accused of involvement in the massive data breach targeted at major retailer TJX — arguably the largest security breach worldwide — reportedly pleaded guilty on Thursday.
Damon Patrick Toey pleaded guilty to wire fraud, credit-card fraud and aggravated identity theft, and will be released subject to electronic monitoring, according to a report on The Wall Street Journal's website. Eleven defendants in total are facing charges in federal court in Boston.
TJX Companies, the parent company of the UK's TK Maxx and Marshall's in the US, said in March 2007 that 45.7 million accounts were compromised over nearly a two-year period. The company said — and US federal investigators subsequently confirmed — it believed the hackers gained access to millions of credit card and debit card numbers through inadequately protected Wi-Fi networks, and then put the numbers up for sale.
The 11 defendants were formally charged last month, including three from the US, one from Estonia, three from the Ukraine, two from China and one from Belarus. One used an alias and his whereabouts are unknown.
