Jordan Robertson reports: When hackers broke into computers at Abilene Telco Federal Credit Union last year, they gained access to sensitive financial information on people from far beyond the bank’s home in west-central Texas. The cyberthieves broke into an employee’s computer in September 2011 and stole the password for the bank’s online account with Experian Plc,…
Category: Of Note
FTC Finalizes Settlements with Two Businesses that Exposed Consumers Sensitive Information Over P2P Networks
From the FTC, a follow-up to a previously-reported action: Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has accepted as final settlements with two operations it charged with illegally exposing the sensitive personal information of thousands of consumers by allowing peer-to-peer file-sharing software to be installed on their corporate computer systems. Settlements with Utah-based debt…
SC: 3.6 million Social Security numbers stolen from state Department of Revenue (update 1)
Ouch. Tim Smith reports: A foreign hacker stole a vast database of the South Carolina Department of Revenue and investigators told GreenvilleOnline.com that 387,000 credit card numbers and 3.6 million Social Security numbers have been exposed. Read more on Greenville News. Update 1: The paper also has a later article on the review of state agencies’…
174 million records compromised in 855 data breach incidents last year, says report
Out-Law.com has a recap of some of the main findings in the 2012 Verizon DBIR: Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (92-page / 3.47MB PDF) (DBIR) covering the year 2011 found that 174 million records were compromised in a total of 855 data breaches in what it called an “an all time low” for protection against data breaches….
Barnes & Noble discloses breach involving pin pads at dozens of stores (update2)
Remember when Michael’s Stores found that pin pads in some stores had been replaced? It looks like the same thing has happened to bookseller Barnes & Noble’s brick and mortar stores. According to the New York Times, the firm discovered the breach on September 14. As of now, it appears that pads at 63 stores…
Service Sells Access to Fortune 500 Firms
More great investigative reporting from Brian Krebs: An increasing number of services offered in the cybercrime underground allow miscreants to purchase access to hacked computers at specific organizations. For just a few dollars, these services offer the ability to buy your way inside of Fortune 500 company networks. The service I examined for this post…