US close to indicting JPMorgan hackers

Federal authorities are close to filing charges against the hackers that infiltrated JPMorgan and exposed the sensitive data of 83 million households and small businesses, The New York Times reported.

And authorities think some of those hackers could actually be brought before a U.S. judge, according to people briefed on the investigation.

{mosads}Law enforcement officials believe several of the perpetrators are living in countries with extradition treaties with the U.S., meaning they could actually stand trial in the States.

Getting foreign hackers to appear in the U.S. court system has challenged law enforcement. Countries like Russia and China, the base for the most persistent hackers, will not extradite cyber crooks to the U.S.

Russian hackers were widely suspected in the JPMorgan hit.

If JPMorgan’s digital assailants are indicted and actually arrested, it could represent somewhat of a first. Over the last year, no criminal charges have been filed following major data breaches at Target, Home Depot or eBay.

Prosecutors and security experts alike have cited the low arrest rate as a major reason cyber crime has skyrocketed in recent years.

As a result, the FBI and Justice Department have stepped up efforts to at least publicly name and file charges against and arrest individuals behind major cyberattacks.

The DOJ last year indicted five members of the Chinese army for hacking. And last month, the FBI issued a record $3 million reward for an elusive Russian hacker accused of perpetuating one of the largest ongoing online financial fraud schemes.