His sentence? death.” His message garnered more than 4,500 re-tweets. In August, a user writing under the Twitter handle wrote: “Algerian hero is 1/10 most dangerous hackers. Death sentence rumorsįollowing his extradition, rumours began to circulate online that Bendelladj was facing the death penalty for his crimes, and his supporters began a campaign asking for his life to be spared.
While the court documents make no references as to how the cash was spent, several reports online claimed that Bendelladj used the money to fund various Palestinian charities – information that made him a hero in the eyes of many. Bendelladj is also accused of using the information gathered to steal money from banks. US authorities say Bendelladj and other SpyEye users were responsible for building a huge network, or “botnet”, of infected computers that they regularly hijacked for financial and personal information. US authorities say he mostly advertised SpyEye on a computer hacking forum known as Darkode. “In a cyber-netherworld, he allegedly commercialised the wholesale theft of financial and personal information through this virus, which he sold to other cyber-criminals,” Yates said.Īccording to court documents, between 20, Bendelladj and others developed, marketed and sold various versions of the SpyEye virus to cyber-criminals, which allowed them to obtain passwords, usernames and credit card information. In a cyber-netherworld, he allegedly commercialised the wholesale theft of financial and personal information through this virus, which he sold to other cyber-criminals. It included charges related to wire, bank, and computer fraud. “ Bendelladj‘s alleged criminal reach extended across international borders, directly into victims’ homes,” said US attorney Sally Quillian Yates, on May 3, 2013, on the same day Bendelladj‘s 23-count indictment was revealed. He was dubbed the “happy hacker” because he was photographed smiling as he was taken into custody at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.Īmerican law enforcement officers identified Bendelladj when he allegedly sold a copy of the SpyEye virus to an undercover officer for $8,500. Authorities in Thailand arrested him on their soil and extradited him to the US in 2013. It took two years for Bendelladj, known in the online world as Bx1, to be apprehended. RELATED: ‘Professional hacking’ company suffers data breach He has already pleaded guilty and faces a prison sentence of more than 65 years and up to $14m in fines, according to the US Department of Justice.
On Tuesday, Bendelladj, who hails from Tizi Ouzou in Algeria, will be sentenced in court in the US state of Georgia.
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The software enabled users to steal login information for online financial accounts, which they then pillaged. The program – a malware toolkit that saw its popularity peak between 20 – is believed to have infected more than 1.4 million computers in the US and elsewhere, according to Wired, a San Francisco-based technology magazine.
Bendelladj, who is alleged to be the co-creator of a banking trojan horse called SpyEye, was indicted in absentia by US authorities in 2011.
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