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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: data theft

data theft stories: 19 news summaries

 Security Site Tots Up What You're Worth
to Hackers

Symantec aims to raise cybercrime awareness

Sep 11, 09 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rising number of cybercriminals make their living selling other people's online identities to thieves. Now a new security tool helps you calculate what yours is worth on the black market—and your risk of losing it, IT World reports. The Norton Online Risk Calculator aims to raise awareness of... More »

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hacker • data theft • Symantec • Internet security • cybercrime

ANALYSIS

 The 10 Riskiest Web Searches 

Hackers target popular search terms

Jun 2, 09 4:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Internet hackers are like pickpockets: They target crowds, and the best place to find them on the web is through search engines, ABC News reports, so thieves tie malware programs to popular word searches. After analyzing more than 2,600 terms, security firm McAfee found these to be the 10... More »

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identity theft • data theft • search • malware • web services

(Newser) - Scientists suspected of plagiarism have answered questionnaires explaining why they did it, USA Today reports. After researchers found that 1 in 200 papers is a rip-off, they contacted about 160 alleged thieves for explanations. "Over time, the responses just got crazier and crazier," said one researcher. "There's... More »

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plagiarism • science • data theft • scientist

Visa, Mastercard Warn
of New Data Breach

Alerts issued after malware infects another payment processor

Feb 24, 09 5:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Mastercard and Visa have alerted financial institutions about another serious data breach at a payment processor, Wired reports. The breach, like the massive fraud unveiled at Heartland Payment Systems last month, is believed to have occurred through malicious software. The credit card issuers are refusing to name the processor involved... More »

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hacker • credit card • data theft • cybercrime • Visa • malware • MasterCard

 Consumer
 Data Breaches
 Hit Record

Thefts, losses of confidential info has already topped 2007

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... More »

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identity theft • TJX • data theft • BJ's Wholesale Club • Barnes & Noble • OfficeMax • Boston Market • credit card accounts • Identity Theft Resource Center • T.J. Maxx • SunGard Higher Education • Mandiant • Sports Authority

Federal Informer Was Behind Massive Credit Card Theft

Multinational gang stole 45M credit card numbers from US retailers

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... More »

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Secret Service • hacker • data theft • cybercrime • informant

Patch for Major Security Flaw
Is Ineffective

Widely distributed fix for Internet failing only slows the damage

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... More »

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Internet • domain names • identity theft • software • data theft • online crime • Dan Kaminsky

Justice Breyer's Records Leaked in File-Sharing Snafu

Investment firm staffer leaked data with music

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... More »

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Stephen Breyer • identity theft • file sharing • data • data theft • Limewire • peer-to-peer

UPDATED

Massive Data Theft Breached 'Secure' Network

Hacked supermarket chain sent data over cable, not wireless 

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 »

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fraud • identity theft • supermarket • credit card • data theft • computer security • fiber optic cables

Supermarket Breach Exposes 4M Credit Cards

Hannaford grocery stores report 1,800 related fraud cases

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,... More »

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fraud • identity theft • supermarket • credit card • data theft • computer security • Visa • MasterCard • Hannaford

Data Encryption Isn't So Secure, After All

Researchers find
easy method to steal protected information

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,... More »

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Princeton University • data theft • Internet security • computer security • encryption • memory chips • computer memory

Brazil Oil Data Stolen From State Company

Information said to concern huge new offshore fields

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... More »

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oil • crime • Brazil • OPEC • gas fields • data theft • Petrobras

Theft of Personal Data
Hits Record

At least 79 million records compromised this year

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... More »

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security • data theft • hackers

UK Accused of Cover-Up in Data Loss

Higher-ups okayed sending files with personal info on 25M

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... More »

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United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • data theft • Northern Rock • Alistair Darling

Two More Discs Missing in UK Data Fiasco

Brown apologizes as criticism of government grows louder

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... More »

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United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • David Cameron • data theft • Alistair Darling

UK Chancellor Fights for Job After Data Loss

25M missing records spell trouble for already shaky Labour

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"... More »

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United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • data theft • Alistair Darling

Random Theft Nabs Info on 159K Employees

Laptop lifted from Administaff contains names, addresses, SSNs

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... More »

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identity theft • data theft • Administaff

Data Thieves Smarten Up, Branch Out

More sophisticated hackers chip away
at your online security

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... More »

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Internet • online fraud • data theft • Symantec • Internet security • hackers

Arrest Marks TJX Hack Case Breakthrough

Ukrainian man captured in Turkey called key to massive scheme

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... More »

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Turkey • crime • cyberattack • hacker • TJX • Maksym Yastremskiy • data theft

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