A former teen hacker who stole nude photos from Paris Hilton’s cellphone and swiped a half million dollars from unsuspecting consumers tells NBC News – and his most famous victim — that he’s sorry for what he did.

“Paris, I’m sorry I put your information online,” said Cameron Lacroix. “I should never have done it. I wouldn’t want it done to me.”

But Lacroix, now 26 and about to report to federal prison to begin a four-year sentence, warns that despite security upgrades at major retail chains that have been victimized, he could do it again.

“It was easy. Too easy,” said Lacroix, who doubts the fixes are enough and believes big companies are “absolutely” still vulnerable to hacking.

In a 10-year criminal career, Lacroix, a lifelong resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has done everything from hacking the Twitter account of Burger King to forging gift cards to stealing thousands of credit card numbers. He’s even hacked federal law enforcement databases. Authorities estimate that Lacroix, who was known by online handles like “cam0” and “Freak,” has done more than $1 million in damage to private firms.

But Lacroix, a computer obsessive since age 11, says he that when he began hacking he didn’t think he was committing crimes. “It was like a game,” he said. “Like a challenge, I guess.” Hacking was also a refuge from his unhappy home life. His mother died of a drug overdose when he was young, and he dropped out of high school.

Read the Full Article: Source – NBC News
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/ex-teen-hacker-tells-paris-hilton-hes-sorry-n239601

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