As per many reports, an Ex-Amazon Cloud Worker has been Found Guilty in Capital One Hack. The hack directly affected over 100 million customers in the US alone.
Ex-Amazon Cloud Worker Found Guilty in Capital One Hack
Remember the massive data breach of capital one back in 2019? Yes, the suspect involved in the case has been found guilty on Friday of hacking and wire fraud charges. The capital one hack is seen as one of the largest ever breaches of a financial services company and it affected over 100 million customers in the US alone. It also involved the theft of sensitive data which is inclusive of bank accounts and social security numbers.
What the Department Of Justice Had To Say in Regards To the Sentencing of the Hacker
Paige A. Thompson who is the hacker involved in the case is a former systems engineer at amazon web services. The hacker made use of a self-created tool in detecting misconfigured AWS accounts and then used those accounts in hacking into systems of over 30 organizations and this is including Capital One, the US department of justice in a press release said.
And in addition to downloading data, the hacker also planted cryptocurrency mining software on servers and then directed crypto directly to her online wallet, cited the justice department.
According to the release, assistant United States attorney Andrew Friedman said in closing arguments that ‘she wanted data, she wanted money, and she wanted to brag. The department however did not identify any other organization that was affected by the hacker’s activity.
What Amazon Has To Say
Amazon said that the hacker had left the company three years prior before the hack took place following her arrest. Capital one just last year agreed to pay $190 million in settling a class action lawsuit filed by its customers. Both organizations, amazon web services and capital one denied liability and have agreed to settle in order to avoid time, expenses, and also the uncertainty of litigation.
Capital One and Its Previous Issues with Cybersecurity
Capital one agreed to pay $80 million to settle claims by regulators of the federal bank just the last year prior in regards to that their cybersecurity measures fall short and that it also failed to put the various risk assessment steps in place when it began using cloud storage services.
The regulators however gave capital one credit for how it notified its customers after the hack and also how it took the necessary steps to counter the problem. The company however said that the safeguards it has put in place before the breach took place helped it to secure data before any customer information could be used.
When Will the Hacker Be Sentenced?
The hacker (Thompson) is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, said the department of justice and that she could face close to 20 years in prison for the charges of wire fraud. The agency also added that accessing a protected computer illegally and then damaging a protected computer are punishable by law and could face up to five years in prison.
