Breach, Threat Management, Data Security

Dutch judge OKs alleged Russian hacker extradition to U.S.

A Russian man who was allegedly part of one of the largest corporate hacks in the U.S. will be extradited to New Jersey from the Netherlands to face charges.

A Dutch judge on Tuesday approved the extradition of Vladimir Drinkman, who was arrested in June 2012 in the Netherlands, according to an Associated Press report. Since his arrest Drinkman has been fighting the move.

Along with four accomplices, Drinkman was wanted for his connection in a large-scale hacking campaign that targeted payment companies, most notably Heartland Payment Systems. After compromising the corporate networks, Drinkman and others allegedly stole at least 160 million credit and debit card numbers, costing the organizations hundreds of millions of dollars over a seven year span.

Co-defendant Dmitriy Smilianets was previously extradited to New Jersey face charges, while the three other suspects still remain at large. 

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