News and Press Releases

Malaysian National Pleads Guilty to Access Device Fraud

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2011

Admitted to Hacking into the Federal Reserve Bank Computer System

Lin Mun Poo, a resident and citizen of Malaysia, pleaded guilty to possessing stolen credit and debit card numbers. The plea was taken this morning before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York. Based on his plea, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Brian G. Parr, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Secret Service, New York Field Office.

In today’s proceedings, the defendant admitted that he possessed credit and debit card information belonging to others. The defendant also admitted that he compromised a computer server belonging to the Federal Reserve Bank, and that he installed a malicious code onto that server.

According to the government’s filings in this case, the defendant made a career of compromising computer servers belonging to financial institutions, defense contractors, and major corporations, among others, and selling or trading the information contained therein for exploitation by others. On October 21, 2010, the defendant traveled to the United States for the purpose of obtaining additional stolen financial account information from other hackers, which he planned to use and sell for his own profit. When he was arrested a few hours after his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Secret Service agents seized his encrypted laptop computer, which contained financial account data and personal identifying information for thousands of individuals that he had allegedly obtained by hacking into various computer systems. One of the victims included FedComp, a data processor for federal credit unions. As a result, the defendant was able to gain unauthorized access to the data of various federal credit unions.

“Our society’s reliance on digital infrastructure means that cyber criminals around the world, such as the defendant, threaten our country’s national and financial security. However, the Secret Service and the Department of Justice, employing state of the art investigative techniques, remain dedicated to protecting cyberspace.” Ms. Lynch praised the work of the Secret Service and the invaluable assistance provided by the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section and the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“The Secret Service has a long history of protecting American consumers, industry, and financial institutions. Sophisticated cyber criminals exploit systemic vulnerabilities to steal money and information and to destroy, disrupt, or threaten critical services to companies and individuals,” said Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Parr. “We continue to adapt to these evolving trends and will remain proactive in pursuing cyber criminals.”

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cristina M. Posa and Melissa B. Marrus.

The Defendant:

LIN MUN POO
Age: 32