Russian Hacker Sentenced to 27 years Behind Bars!

Next time you think about learning how to hack illegally, think about this man! The 32 year old son of Russian parliament member, Valery Seleznev, was recently sentenced to spend 27 years behind bars for his cybercrimes.

The hacker’s crimes were: stealing millions of payment card details from businesses by infecting malware into their point-of-sale systems.

27 years is a long time, in fact, it is the longest ever given out in the US for hacking or computer crimes!

The son of Seleznev, Roman Seleznev, was sentenced last Friday in Washington after being found guilty of a range of crimes including; wire fraud, intentional damage to a protected computer, obtaining information from a protected computer, possession of unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft.

In the dark world of cybercrime Roman Seleznev was known for trading stolen payment card data. He would use a few aliases – Track2, 2pac or nCuX – and he succeeded in selling millions of private credit card details to criminals all over the web.

Authorities in the US say that for about four years Seleznev infected malware into more than 500 businesses, where he would then capture all their card data and transfer it to servers under his control.

When he was arrested a few years ago, the laptop that he owned had more than 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers on it!

To try and get mercy Seleznev sent a letter to the judge earlier this month. He explained how his rough childhood including his life of poverty and his parents’ divorce had affected him deeply. His mother’s death when he was just 17 sent his world spiralling out of control; he had to drop out of college and try to pay the bills.

During this tough time is when he discovered the trading of credit card data and that he could use his computer skills to hack into businesses.

After Seleznev’s strict sentencing, he made a statement of a different tone, claiming he was a political prisoner that was kidnapped by the US government.

A hacker can target anyone - even you! It can happen to anyone, so if you feel your computer or private data has been hacked do not hesitate to contact our TCG Forensic Division. Our digital forensic experts will assist you in any way you need! Call 087 001 0511/2 or email info@cellularforensics.co.za

The History of Digital Forensics

Before the 1980s, crimes involving computers and digital devices were dealt with using existing laws. So, the field of digital forensics is relatively new. While its history may be short, it is quite complex.

As the years went by, the range of digital crimes being committed increased, but it was not until the 1980s that federal laws began to include computer offences. Canada was actually the first country to pass legislation in 1983, followed by the US Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986.

The fact that computer and digital crimes grew so much during the 1980s and the 1990s caused law enforcement agencies to start making specilised groups to deal with the technical aspects of the investigation. For example, the Computer Analysis and Response Team that the FBI formed in 1984.

Throughout the 1990s there was a high demand for these new investigative resources, this lead to the creation of regional and even local level groups to help handle the load. But, it was not until 1992 that the term “computer forensics” was actually used in academic literature.

Since the year 2000, a lot of people and agencies have written and published guidelines for digital forensics. A European lead international treaty, the Convention on Cyber crime, came into force in 2004 with the aim of reconciling national computer crime laws, investigative techniques and international co-operation.

The issue of training also received some attention. Companies, such as forensic software developers, began to offer certification programs, and digital forensic analysis was included as a topic at the UK specialist investigator training facility.

Since the late 1990s digital devices have become available everywhere, basically everyone has a phone or some kind of digital device. Devices have advanced way beyond simply communicating, they are great forms of information, even for crime not usually associated with digital forensics. However, digital analysis of phones has lagged behind traditional computer media, mostly because of problems over the ownership of the devices.

The complex field of digital forensics will always have unresolved issues. Many issues will include; increasing size of digital media, the wide availability of encryption to basically everyone, the variety of operating systems, increasing number of people owning multiple devices and lets not forget the legal limitations on investigators. 

DLA is based in Cape Town and combines the experience of two seasoned investigators with both criminal and civil backgrounds with the latest technologies to achieve the results that you require.