Hamza bendelladj sentenced to death row
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Hamza Bendelladj: Is the Algerian hacker a hero?
Depending on who you ask, Hamza Bendelladj is either a Robin Hood-esque hero or a cyber-age hoodlum.
The 27-year-old Algerian computer science graduate will be sentenced on Tuesday in a US court for using a computer virus to steal money from more than 200 American banks and financial institutions. He then reportedly gave millions of dollars to Palestinian charities.
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. The program – a malware toolkit that saw its popularity peak between 2009 and 2011 – 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. The software enabled users to steal login information for online financial accounts, which they then pillaged.
On Tuesday, Bendelladj, who hails from Tizi Ouzou in Algeria, will be sentenced in court in the US state of Georgia. 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.
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It took two years for Bendelladj, known i
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Did Algerian Hacker Hamza Bendelladj Transfer Stolen Millions to the Palestinian Cause?
On October 11, a photo was posted on Instagram showing Algerian rapper Didin Canon 16 alongside Hamza Bendelladj, the notorious Algerian hacker recently returned home after serving his sentence in the United States.
The post sparked widespread engagement on social media, drawing attention from both Algerian and Arab news outlets. Some celebrated Bendelladj's return, claiming he had been imprisoned for "hacking Israeli and American banks and donating a portion of the stolen money to the Palestinian cause."
Why Was Hamza Bendelladj Arrested and How Did It Happen?
In January 2013, Hamza Bendelladj was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport while en route from Malaysia to Egypt with his wife and daughter.
What stood out was his calm demeanor. He smiled as he was led, handcuffed, into the airport detention center and again during a press conference at Bangkok’s Immigration Police headquarters. Bendelladj even questioned the accuracy of Thai authorities' claims that his name appeared on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
At the time, Thai police revealed that Bendelladj was suspected of hacking into more than 217 banks and financial institutions worldwide. Further investi