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15 Stories

August 2008
- Consumer Data Breaches Hit Record
  
  Washington Post | Aug 26, 08 9:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Theft or loss of confidential consumer information from computer databases is at a record high, with more breaches already this year than all of 2007, the Washington Post reports. Records reveal that 449 US businesses, government agencies and universities have reported data breaches this year, compared with 446 breaches involving 127 million consumer records last year. The loss of some 90 million consumer records last year have been linked to a single giant retailer, TJX, which operates TJ Maxx stores. More »
  
  Tags
  
  identity theft • data theft • BJ's Wholesale Club • Barnes & Noble • TJX • OfficeMax • Boston Market
- Federal Informer Was Behind Massive Credit Card Theft
  
  New York Times | Aug 12, 08 8:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Federal agents struggling to crack the biggest data-theft ring in history discovered that one of their own informants was orchestrating the syndicate's US operations, the New York Times reports. The supposedly reformed hacker had turned Secret Service informant to escape a prison sentence in 2003 but secretly continued his criminal activities. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Secret Service • cybercrime • hacker • data theft • informant
- Patch for Major Security Flaw Is Ineffective
  
  New York Times | Aug 9, 08 11:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A fatal flaw in Internet security has a patch, but it’s a leaky one, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, a Russian scientist demonstrated an attack that secretly redirected web traffic. It took him just hours using standard equipment; before the patch, it would have taken seconds. Thieves could use the method to hijack a user’s bank or credit card information. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Internet • software • identity theft • domain names • data theft • online crime • Dan Kaminsky
July 2008
- Justice Breyer's Records Leaked in File-Sharing Snafu
  
  Washington Post | Jul 9, 08 10:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An employee at an investment firm made much more than music available when he used a company computer to access the file-sharing site Limewire, reports the Washington Post . He also made it possible for users to access records of 2,000 of the firm's clients—including Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Users as far away as Colombia downloaded the data, which can be used to open lines of credit. More »
  
  Tags
  
  file sharing • identity theft • data theft • data • Stephen Breyer • Limewire • peer-to-peer
March 2008
- Massive Data Theft Breached 'Secure' Network
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 31, 08 11:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - High-tech thieves were able to penetrate what experts called an especially secure computer network when they stole 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers from the Hannaford and Sweetbay grocery chains. Unlike stores that send data over wireless networks, the supermarkets used a theoretically less porous fiber-optic cable. More »
  
  Tags
  
  fraud • identity theft • credit card • computer security • data theft • supermarket • fiber optic cables
- Supermarket Breach Exposes 4M Credit Cards
  
  Boston Globe | Mar 18, 08 9:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A data security breach at Hannaford, an East Coast supermarket chain, has exposed the credit card information of 4.2 million customers and resulted in 1,800 cases of fraud so far, the Boston Globe reports. The breach, which went undetected for three months, is one of the largest ever, the AP notes. Hannaford, which also runs Sweetbay supermarkets, says no names or personal information got out, just account numbers of credit and debit cards. More »
  
  Tags
  
  fraud • identity theft • credit card • computer security • data theft • MasterCard • supermarket • Visa
February 2008
- Data Encryption Isn't So Secure, After All
  
  New York Times | Feb 22, 08 1:29 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Accessing encrypted data can be as simple as chilling a computer memory chip, according to a Princeton research group. The researchers were able to break through encryption in Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems, reports the New York Times , calling into question the security methods that companies, government agencies, and individuals use to protect data. More »
  
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  Internet security • computer security • data theft • encryption • Princeton University • computer memory • memory chips
- Brazil Oil Data Stolen From State Company
  
  Associated Press | Feb 14, 08 4:35 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company, today announced that important information had gone missing, and one Brazilian site says the data concerns two large, important new gas and oil finds, the Associated Press reports. The new fields are so large, Terra reports, that they could earn Brazil a seat with the OPEC oil cartel. More »
  
  Tags
  
  crime • oil • Brazil • OPEC • data theft • gas fields • Petrobras
December 2007
- Theft of Personal Data Hits Record
  
  Associated Press | Dec 31, 07 4:10 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Theft of sensitive personal data such as Social Security and credit card information from corporations, government offices and other institutions hit a record this year, reports AP. One survey found 79 million records compromised in the US—nearly four times as many reported in 2006. Another study cited over 162 million data breaches worldwide this year. More »
  
  Tags
  
  security • hackers • data theft
November 2007
- UK Accused of Cover-Up in Data Loss
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Nov 23, 07 12:27 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Alistair Darling's disastrous week continued today as the British chancellor of the exchequer faced accusations of a cover-up in the lost-data fiasco, the Telegraph reports. Contrary to Darling's claim that the loss of 25 million people's data was an error by a junior administrator, newly released e-mails indicate senior tax officials knew about the decision to cut costs by not purging sensitive information before transferring the files. More »
  
  Tags
  
  United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Alistair Darling • Northern Rock • data theft
- Two More Discs Missing in UK Data Fiasco
  
  Times (UK) | Nov 22, 07 2:15 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The fallout from the lost data fiasco in Britain continues, as the Times of London reveals that two more unencrypted discs containing sensitive personal information have been reported missing from the nation's tax agency. Gordon Brown faced down a furious opposition in Prime Minister's Questions yesterday. The PM has employed a "masochism strategy": take the hit now to keep Alistair Darling, his chancellor, in his job. More »
  
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  United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Alistair Darling • data theft • David Cameron
- UK Chancellor Fights for Job After Data Loss
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Nov 21, 07 2:28 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A day after Alistair Darling was forced to admit that the tax department had lost the personal data of 25 million citizens, the British chancellor was fighting to keep his job in the face of a hostile and incredulous press. "Beyond farce, past comprehension, criminally irresponsible and beneath contempt" was the assessment of one Times columnist. Darling insisted on morning talk shows he would continue in his job, but the press is less certain. More »
  
  Tags
  
  United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Alistair Darling • data theft
October 2007
- Random Theft Nabs Info on 159K Employees
  
  ComputerWorld | Oct 18, 07 6:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A laptop stolen from the offices of Administaff contained at minimum the names, addresses and Social Security Numbers of 159,000 current and former employees. The Houston-based temp firm began notifying the compromised employees this week, Computerworld reports. The data was apparently not the target of the theft, described as "random" in a company website post. More »
  
  Tags
  
  identity theft • data theft
September 2007
- Data Thieves Smarten Up, Branch Out
  
  PC World | Sep 17, 07 2:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hackers are getting smarter, more international, and increasingly well funded, a new report on Internet security reveals. One scam involves gangs acting as middlemen for other would-be criminals; some rip-off artists use social networking sites to research a mark, then send a personalized email to trick the target into giving up personal data, PC World reports. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Internet • Internet security • hackers • data theft • Symantec • online fraud
August 2007
- Arrest Marks TJX Hack Case Breakthrough
  
  Boston Globe | Aug 21, 07 2:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Ukrainian-born man believed to have helped arrange the sale of credit card numbers stolen from TJX is in custody, investigators say, and his arrest may help crack the largest case of corporate data theft on record. He was selling thousands of stolen numbers, the Boston Globe reports, but it's unclear how directly he was involved in the original theft. More »
  
  Tags
  
  crime • Turkey • hacker • data theft • cyberattack • TJX