Hamza Bendelladj

Hamza Bendelladj
Born 1988 (age 29–30)
Tizi Ouzou
Nationality Algerian
Other names Smiling Hacker
Occupation Hacker

RBL (in arabic : حمزة بن دلاج), is an Algerian hacker who goes by the code name BX1,[1] and has been nicknamed the "Smiling Hacker". Born in 1988, in Tizi Ouzou[2] (Algeria), the polyglot of five languages, was on the top 10 list of the most wanted hackers by Interpol and the FBI,[3] for allegedly embezzling ten to twenty million dollars[4] from more than two hundred American and European financial institutions, via a computer virus, the "RimiG33k" that infected more than 50 million computers worldwide (mostly from the United States),[5] which he developed with his Russian accomplice Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, aka "Gribodemon",[6] to steal banking information stored on infected computers. He hacked the official website of the Israeli government.[7] His cracks would have diverted more than 280 million dollars, which he claims to have redistributed to various Palestinian NGOs.

Mode of operation

Using the help of a malicious software called "SpyEye", Hamza, under the pseudonyms "BX1" or "Daniel HB" cracks into the computers of the banks or private individuals to recover passwords and identification codes. Once he took control of an account, he could dump it in two or three clicks. Hamza was reported to have already confessed during his arrest.

Arrest

After a three-year hunt, Hamza Bendelladj was arrested on January 8, 2013 by Thai police while making a stopover in Bangkok in transit between Malaysia and Egypt. He did not seem to be disturbed and he did not resist arrest. He said goodbye to his family as he departed with the police. His wife and daughter continued their journey to Egypt without him. He earned the nickname "Smiling Hacker" due to the smile on his face during his media presentation on all the photos taken after his arrest even when handcuffed.[8] According to Thai police, the young hacker was in the top 10 most wanted by the FBI.[9]

When asked what he did with the money, he said he spent it donating millions of dollars to Palestinian and African charities.[10] Trial documents did not mention it.[11]

Extradition to the United States

He was extradited in May 2013 to the United States. He was tried in Atlanta where he pleaded guilty on June 26, 2015. He was faced with thirty years of prison and a fine of fourteen million dollars.[12]

His accomplice Aleksandr Andreevich Panin was later arrested on July 1, 2013, at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and pleaded guilty in January 2014 to the Atlanta Federal Court.

Support on social networks

A rumor about his death sentence by a Tunisian website inflamed social networks in Algeria and the diaspora. It raised a great solidarity movement among Algerians who feared seeing a death penalty passed on the young hacker. Several Facebook support groups were created in reaction. Others launched a petition demanding the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Barack Obama to intervene for the release.[13] The solidarity movements had prompted the US ambassador to Algeria, Joan A. Polaschik, to react on her Twitter account,[14] writing "that computer crimes are not capital crimes and are not punishable by the death penalty".

Conviction in the United States

Hamza has been imprisoned in the United States since May 2013, with the US court sentenced him on April 20, 2016 to 15 years in prison and 3 years of probation.[15]

His Russian accomplice Aleksandr Andrevich Panin, 27, aka "Gribodemon", was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison.[16]

In their report, US judicial authorities have estimated the damage of the virus "SpyEye" which he invented with his Russian accomplice on the computer systems of several international banks to nearly a billion dollars. Between 2010 and 2012, banks were led to undertake the "cleansing" of their databases to repair the damage caused by this malware, explains the United States Department of Justice. The hacker's lawyer had announced that he intended to appeal against the court's decision.[17]

Private life

He is married and has one child. He lived in Bachdjerrah district from childhood until he was arrested.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Algerian National Extradited from Thailand to Face Federal Cyber Crime Charges in Atlanta for SpyEye Virus. Communiqué du 3 mai 2013 sur le site officiel du FBI.
  2. ↑ Major Computer Hacking Forum Dismantled. (Voir : Hamza Bendelladj, ara Bx1, 27, of Tizi Ouzou, Algeria), en bas de page du communiqué du 15 juillet 2015, sur le site officiel du FBI.
  3. ↑ Le "hacker riant", héros d'Algérie, Europe 1, 9 janvier 2013.
  4. ↑ Un hacker algérien arrêté à Bangkok, El Watan, du 11 janvier 2013.
  5. ↑ États-Unis : le hacker algérien Hamza Bendelladj condamné à 15 ans de prison. Jeune Afrique - 21 avril 2016
  6. ↑ Retour sur la traque du créateur du virus « SpyEye », 24 février 2014. France 24.
  7. ↑ Hamza Bendelladj ne risque pas la peine de mort, L'Expression, du 24 aout 2015.
  8. ↑ Pirate arrêté, virus en liberté, Le Monde, du 25 mai 2013.
  9. ↑ Algérie : Hamza Bendelladj, cracker indécryptable, Jeune Afrique, du 30 janvier 2013.
  10. ↑ Algerijnse hacker star van amerikanen en schonk aan palestijnen, De Standaard, édition du 22 septembre 2015.
  11. ↑ "Hamza Bendelladj: Is the Algerian hacker a hero? | News". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  12. ↑ Détenu à Atlanta (États-Unis) : Le hacker Hamza Bendelladj n’a pas été condamné à mort, El Watan, du 24 aout 2015.
  13. ↑ Affaire du hacker algérien : Il risque 30 ans de prison,Le Soir d'Algérie, 1er octobre 2015.
  14. ↑ Condamnation à mort du jeune hacker algérien, l'ambassadrice des États-Unis coupe court à la rumeur, Algérie-Focus, 23 aout 2015.
  15. ↑ Hacker Hamza Bendelladj sentenced to 15 years,Al Jazeera, 23 Apr 2016.
  16. ↑ Two Major International Hackers Who Developed the “SpyEye” Malware get over 24 Years Combined in Federal Prison, Justice.gov, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
  17. ↑ US bank hackers get long bail term.BBC - 21 avril 2016
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