Target Co said it was among the victims of computer hacker Albert Gonzalez, mastermind of the biggest identity theft in U.S. history. […] Target spokeswoman Amy Reilly said her company was among the victims, having had an “extremely limited” number of payment card numbers stolen by Gonzalez about two years ago. She declined to say…
Category: Of Note
Major International Hacker Pleads Guilty For Massive Attack On U.s. Retail And Banking Networks
Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and to steal data relating to tens of millions of credit and debit cards, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey…
Code That Protects Most Cellphone Calls Is Divulged
Kevin J. O’Brien reports: A German computer engineer said Monday that he had deciphered and published the secret code used to encrypt most of the world’s digital mobile phone calls, in what he called an attempt to expose weaknesses in the security of the world’s wireless systems. The action by the encryption expert Karsten Nohl…
Top 10 Worst Data Losses or Breaches, updated
It’s been a while since I last revised my list of the largest breaches or data loss incidents worldwide, and the end of the year seems like a good time to look back at what may have been the worst incidents ever in terms of numbers. Remember when the stolen V.A. laptop made headlines in…
Judge Gives Preliminary OK To Countrywide breach settlement
Brett Barrouquere of the Associated Press reports: A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp., and millions of customers whose detailed financial information was exposed in a security breach. Under the terms of the settlement, Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America, would give up to 17 million people…
UK: Hole in banking system allowed ‘shocking’ scam
The UK Press Association reports: A judge condemned a “shocking hole” in the banking system as he jailed two London fraudsters who profited from an internet scam thought to involve 180,000 British credit cards. Gboyega Akinbola, 36, and Oyetunde Oyedeji, 31, went on a lavish spending spree worth an estimated £60,000 after ordering more than…