accused of hacking into Pentagon and Nazi systems. 40 million credit card and debit number stolen. >> On its surface, the International Space Station heats up to 120° C.
The onboard temperature and humidity control system keeps the inside at the right temperature for human survival. If it fails, the astronauts stationed here would literally be cooked. And just now, a hacker has gotten hold of the system software.
He's not a hostile government agent, just a 15-year-old in his bedroom. He successfully gained access to 13 NASA computers. This teenager is a prodigy, one of the most talented young hackers the world has ever seen.
And he didn't just break into NASA, he also hacked the Pentagon. From his point of view, he's just toying around. From the government's perspective, he's a national security threat.
>> Largest identity theft case ever. >> Largest data breach in US history >> that affected millions of people. >> One that humiliated them over and over again and one that they will go after ruthlessly.
[Music] Confirmed. It's the year 1989, a suburban village in South Florida. This is Jonathan James.
He is 6 years old. While other kids are outside playing tag, he's busy inside, glued to the family's computer. Mostly, he's just playing games.
His parents are worried about his obsession. His dad is a programmer. At one point, he installs parental protection on the computer, but Jonathan just breaks through it.
In his early teens, he starts reading books in the programming language C and the operating system Unix, a precursor for Linux and Mac OS. He studies source code extensively and talks to other computer enthusiasts. He spends countless hours in front of the computer, often until late into the night.
One afternoon, Jonathan uninstalls Windows from his family PC, then installs Linux. No one asked him to. No one could stop him.
His computer time regularly leads to arguments with his parents. It doesn't get any better once he gets his own PC. After a while, his parents decide to confiscate it.
Jonathan runs away and says he's not coming home until he gets it back. Soon it won't be his parents who are trying to keep him away from a computer, but the US government. [Applause] [Music] At 15, Jonathan has long morphed from curious pre-teen to full-blown hacker, one of the youngest and best at the time.
Online, he's known under his alias, Comrade. Jonathan really enjoys messing with systems, not to break them, but to beat them. It's a power thing, a control thing.
He likes the thrill of it. The tougher the system, the more it pulls him in. He goes in, proves it's not so secure after all, and moves on.
He doesn't care much about the stuff inside. He doesn't steal data, delete files, or spread viruses. In fact, sometimes he does the opposite.
He'll break in, then send a polite little email to the system admin. Hey, your setup's got holes. Here's where.
Here's how to fix it. [Music] In the summer of 1999, Jonathan is looking for a new challenge. So, he decides to hack NASA, more specifically the AY's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
He gains access to 13 NASA computers. It's unclear how, and this time, Jonathan decides to actually take something. He downloads proprietary software valued at $1.
7 million. It's the software for the temperature and humidity control of the ISS. In an interview, Jonathan will later say, "The code itself was crappy.
Certainly not worth $1. 7 million like they claimed. The only reason I was downloading the source code in the first place was because I was studying C programming.
And what better way to learn than reading software written by the government. " Just downloading the software didn't give Jonathan remote control over the ISS systems. Having the source code is one thing, but actually sending commands to his spacecraft is a whole different story.
It would have taken more steps to actually access the system. But this hack is still a massive security breach. When NASA finds out, they have to shut down their systems for 3 weeks, resulting in damages of around $40,000.
Two months later, Jonathan takes up his next challenge, hacking the Pentagon. More specifically, their Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It analyzes and deals with potential threats to the US from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
Jonathan gains access to a server in Bellis, Virginia, and installs a back door. Again, it is unknown how he actually pulled this off. Once inside DTR systems, he intercepts more than 3,300 messages to and from DTR staff.
He retrieves 19 usernames and passwords of employees, at least 10 of which have access to military computers. Jonathan thinks his hacks are no big deal. To him, they are quote just harmless exploration.
Law enforcement disagrees. [Music] It's an early morning in January 2000. Last month, Jonathan turned 16.
By now, he has not one but multiple computers of his own. He is well connected with other hackers, sharing tips and tricks. He also loves Star Trek.
His mother comes into the room and wakes him up. >> Jonathan, honey, the FBI is at the door. >> They're here for him.
They raid his family home and take five computers. They also take his Palm Pilot, some CDs, and his Star Trek book. Bull choice for evidence.
Jonathan is questioned by the officers. He admits everything and promises to never do it again. Then he hears nothing for 3 months.
And then the authorities press charges and his life begins to change dramatically. Jonathan James becomes the youngest person ever convicted of violating cyber crime laws in the US. If Jonathan had been an adult, he might have ended up with a decade behind bars, but he's still a minor.
So, the US District Court in Miami puts him on 6 months house arrest. Jonathan is no longer allowed to use his computers in his free time, and even worse, he has to write letters of apology to NASA and the Department of Defense. Later, he tests positive for drugs.
a clear probation violation. So, he gets sent to a juvenile detention facility for 6 months. He's scared about spending time there with actual criminals.
His father will later say that prison changed Jonathan. It made him strangely idle. Looking back, Jonathan regrets the whole thing.
What started as fun challenges ended with him behind bars. The thrills weren't worth it. Not even close.
From that point on, he decides to leave hacking behind for good. But not everyone believes him. And a few years later, his past life will catch up with him.
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While other AI tools charge around $20 per month for just one model, Merlin AI gives you access to all major ones for only $5 per month. Click on the link in the description and use our code fern at checkout or scan the QR code. [Music] This is Albert Gonzalez.
He's got a few things in common with Jonathan James. He was also born in the8s. He too is a self-taught hacker.
When he was 14, he also broke into NASA systems. And as a consequence, he also got a visit by the FBI. But that didn't stop Gonzalez from hacking.
Far from it. We don't know if Albert Gonzalez and Jonathan James knew each other, but they had a common hacker friend called Christopher Scott. Gonzalez went by many aliases on the internet, but his favorite was Soup Nazi, a reference to a Seinfeld episode.
>> You want bread? >> Yes, please. >> $3.
>> In early 2000s, Gonzalez stumbled across Shadow Crew, a marketplace for trafficking stolen credit and bank card numbers and identity information. And even though the feds are having an eye on him, he gets involved. In 2003, he gets caught trying to pull cash from an ATM using fake credit cards.
To avoid jail time, he agrees to work with the Secret Service. Soon, he helps them bust a bunch of shadow crew members. You'd expect that his work as an informant for the Secret Service would stop him from any criminal activity.
But well, in his view, the salary from the Secret Service is too low. So, he gets back to what he does best, hacking. He sets up an elaborate scheme he calls get rich or die trying.
The scheme will turn into one of the world's biggest cases of identity theft. It'll ruin his life, but Jonathan James will end up dead. [Music] This is Scott, who is both friends with Gonzalez and James.
Next to him, said someone who, according to criminal reports, is only known as JJ. They're doing something called war driving. It's a simple technique.
You drive around in your car and park close to companies. You only need your laptop and a high power radio antenna. Once you're close enough, you check for vulnerabilities in their Wi-Fi network.
Back then, most companies weren't exactly taking cyber security seriously. Inside Office Max, people are buying Post-its and whiteboard markers in four colors, gearing up for a meeting that probably could have been an email. Outside, Scott and JJ access the store's Wi-Fi and through that enter its systems.
Once inside, they install a sniffer program which captures and downloads credit and debit card data from customers. Then they send the data to Gonzalez. He forwards it to another hacker who decrypts the PIN codes.
Gonzalez and his crew don't just sell the stolen card info. They encode them onto blank magnetic strip cards and use those to pull tens of thousands of dollars out of ATMs. After the Office Max breach, banks were apparently forced to reissue around 200,000 cards.
And this hack wasn't a one-off. Over the span of the next three years, Gonzalez and his crew hack into several major US companies, including BJ's Wholesale Club, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Forever 21, and others. Their biggest credit card data heist happens at TJX.
That's the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and others. Around 96 million TJX customers are affected by the theft of their credit and debit card info. At the time, these attacks make up the largest case of identity theft in US history.
The crew stole the data of around 180 million credit and debit cards. The total damage of all infected companies amounts to roughly $400 million US in reimbursements, legal costs, and forensic fees. >> There's a major break in a credit card scam that affected millions of people.
Experts say this man's arrest may lead to the kingpin behind the biggest credit card ID theft in history. The Secret Service investigates and at one point they realize that their very own informant is not only involved but is a mastermind behind the TJX heist. May 2008, Pinerest, Florida.
Jonathan James is 24 years old now. [Music] He doesn't go to college. He doesn't have a job.
His mother died of breast cancer 6 years ago. Together with his brother, he still lives in the house he grew up in. He apparently suffers from depression.
Overall, he's living a withdrawn life and is retired from hacking. But today, he'll get another surprise visit. This time, it's the Secret Service.
They raid the family's house just like the FBI had done 8 years ago. They drew a connection from Gonzalez to Christopher Scott to him. They suspect that JJ is short for Jonathan James and that he's part of the hacker group.
The agents go through Jonathan's stuff. They find a suicide note he had written years ago and a gun. We don't know if the agents offer him psychological help, but according to Jonathan, they don't confiscate the weapon.
[Music] Jonathan is shocked. He swears that he has nothing to do with the TJX case. What's going on?
On the subpoena, he's able to find some answers. He reads about this guy, Albert Gonzalez. Jonathan recognizes him by another nickname he used online.
Gonzalez has been working as an informant for the feds since 2003. For 5 years, Gonzalez used Scott to pull off his hacks while simultaneously writing out other hackers to the feds to stay in their good graces. Jonathan is sure that Gonzalez is now trying to pin the hacks on Scott.
and he is getting a bad feeling. He thinks they'll be a much more appealing target than Chris. It might not matter to the feds that he's innocent.
Even though, in his words, Scott and Gonzalez are the most destructive, dangerous hackers the feds ever caught. They'll let them off easy because he's a juicier target. That would please the public more.
In Jonathan's mind, the picture is clear. They need a scapegoat. Not Gonzalez, not Scott, not the one who actually caused the damage, but him, Jonathan.
In his words, the feds played dirty. He holds these beliefs for a reason. There's this paper that has made rounds in the hacker scene, Agent Steel's Guide to Getting Busted.
It's basically a survival guide for hackers written by one who ended up in prison. Agent Steel's real name was Justin Tanner Peterson. He was an American hacker who worked as an informant for the feds while continuing to commit crimes.
Agent Steel writes, "The criminal justice system is a game to be played both by prosecution and defense. And if you have to be a player, you'd be wise to learn the rules of engagement. " He makes it clear that law enforcement isn't always fair.
They play dirty and will do just about anything, including lie, to win their case. Jonathan read this guide and he knows that Gonzalez is working with the feds, so he's convinced he's going to prison even though he's innocent. The first time was already terrifying.
He doesn't want to go through that again. [Music] On May 18th, 2008, 2 weeks after agents raided his home, Jonathan was found dead in his home after a self-inflicted gunshot wound. [Music] He wrote a note.
There are messages to his family and friends, passwords to his accounts. In this letter, he also expresses his opinion on the authorities. He writes, "I have no faith in the justice system.
Perhaps my actions today in this letter will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over the situation, and this is my only way to regain control. " Remember, it's not whether you win or lose.
It's whether I win or lose. And sitting in jail for 20, 10, or even 5 years for a crime I didn't commit is not me winning. I die free.
[Music] In March 2010, Albert Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in the series of hacks. In the backyard of his parents, the Secret Service seized a barrel containing $1. 2 2 million in cash.
Christopher Scott was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his role in the attacks. It's likely that the pseudonym JJ didn't refer to Jonathan James, but rather to Steven Watt, another figure convicted in the TJX case, who was known to use the alias Jim Jones online. [Music] At the point of his death, Jonathan neither had been arrested, charged, tried, nor sentenced.
It seems like knowing that Gonzalez had worked with the Secret Service fueled Jonathan's fear to become a scapegoat and end up in prison. Jonathan James wasn't some criminal mastermind. He was a teenager with a rare talent and a deep curiosity for how systems work.
After he hacked into them, he often offered to help fix them. Instead of guiding such talents, helping to channel them into something good, the justice system decided to make an example out of him.
