WASHINGTON — Albert Gonzalez, the leader of a network of hackers behind many of the largest data breaches around the country, had most of his impact as a leader of the hackers and not in being a great hacker himself, according to a panel convened to discuss his case.

The panel, which consisted of the prosecutor who won his convictions, a journalist which interviewed him extensively and the Secret Service agent which tracked him, told attendees at Visa's Global Security Summit on Wednesday that Gonzalez has never claimed to a "premier hacker" but that he was very skilled at mustering the talents of others.

Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2010 after he was convicted in Miami of leading a ring that breached card processing systems at Heartland Payment Systems, 7-11, Hannaford Brothers, TJ Maxx, BJ's Wholesale Club and others, compromising a reported 130 million accounts and costing financial services firms and insurers more than $200 million.