The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) will honor Brian Krebs, journalist behind KrebsOnSercurity, for his achievements in investigative reporting.

Mr. Krebs will receive ACFE's Guardian Award at the 26^th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, held this year in Baltimore, Maryland, where Krebs will also deliver the keynote address. The award annually honors the journalist “whose dedication, perseverance, and commitment to the truth has contributed significantly to the fight against fraud.”

As a reporter for The Washington Post from 1995 to 2009, Mr. Krebs has previously authored hundreds of articles for the paper, as well as posts for the Security Fix blog. He achieved notoriety investigating cybercriminals' illicit activities, having uncovered massive data breaches and theft of consumers' personal and financial information.

Mr. Krebs first discovered and reported on data breaches at credit card processors in Heartland (the largest single data breach to date), Global Payments and FIS for his website, KrebsOnSecurity. He was also the first reporter to break high profile breaches for retailers including Target, Neiman Marcus, Michaels, Kmart, Home Depot, and the restaurant chain, Jimmy Johns. Krebs was also the first journalist to report on the malware that would later become known as Stuxnet.

As his website states, Mr. Krebs was not trained in computer security and first stumbled upon the field by accident. After he fell victim to Chinese hackers taking over his home network in 2001, Krebs states that he found his calling. “It's an obsession that hasn't let up,” he wrote.

Kreb's investigative reporting throughout his career has helped expose dangerous cybercriminals and those who would aid their efforts. “Through Brian Krebs' hard work and perseverance, numerous fraudsters have been brought to justice and their business operations taken permanently offline,” said ACFE president and CEO James D. Ratley.

“His insightful articles and blog posts have also raised public awareness and helped to expose serious threats including the malware known as Stuxnet, massive credit card breaches involving millions of accounts, and global internet providers and hosting services that catered to cybercriminals.”

Recently, Mr. Krebs has been working on a book about his experiences, entitled Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime, which will be released later this month. Sony Pictures is also reportedly planning a motion picture based on Krebs' story, after picking up the rights to his New York Times article, “Reporting from the Web's Underbelly,” which focuses on his exploits.

The Guardian Award was first presented in 2012 to New York Times writer and bestselling author, Diana Henriques, who penned the financial thriller, The Wizard of Lies, documenting the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Other winners include Allan Dodds Frank and Susan Schmidt.

For more information visit FraudConference.com.

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Reporter Brian Krebs to be honored with ACFE award

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