US data breach: Prosecutors charge alleged hackers
- Published
US prosecutors have charged two Vietnamese and a Canadian for their roles in what they claim is one of the biggest data breaches in US history.
It's alleged that they stole nearly a billion email addresses by hacking into eight email service providers.
They used the data to spam tens of millions of people and sell them fake products, netting over $2m (£1.3m).
US authorities say that most of America's email distribution companies were infiltrated between 2009 and 2012.
Court documents do not reveal which email companies were hacked.
Giang Hoang Vu has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer fraud, while Viet Quoc Nguyen remains at large.
Both men resided in the Netherlands before Mr Vu was extradited in March 2014.
The government alleges that the two Vietnamese men used the stolen email address to direct people to websites selling fake Adobe Systems Inc software.
The other defendant, Canadian David-Manuel Santos Da Silva, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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