link didn't post properly???? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Southerland" <larrysoutherland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <the_bullhorn2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <thebullhornsbest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 8:36 PM Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- IMPORTANT NOTE IF YOU HAVE/USE CREDIT CARD(S)!!!!!!! > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="us-ascii" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > http://www.walletpop.com/credit/article/albert-gonzalez-charged-with-theft-o > f/625932 > > > > > Feds Bust Biggest Identity Theft Ring > > > By DEVLIN BARRETT > > , > > AP > > posted: 15 HOURS 10 MINUTES AGO > > filed under: Crime News <http://news.aol.com/main/crime> , National News > <http://news.aol.com/nation> , Credit Cards > <http://www.walletpop.com/credit/credit-cards> > > > <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100014629x1207153240x1200375227/aol?redir=htt > p://www.walletpop.com/credit/article/albert-gonzalez-charged-with-theft-of/6 > 25932> Print <javascript:void(0)> Share > > Text SizeA <javascript:void(0)> A <javascript:void(0)> A > > WASHINGTON (Aug. 17) - Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Miami man > with the largest case of credit and debit card data theft ever in the > United > States, accusing the one-time government informant of swiping 130 million > accounts on top of 40 million he stole previously. > > <javascript:oKE.pgPopUp('walletpop-credit_topidthefts')> Top Data Breaches > > <javascript:oKE.pgPopUp('walletpop-credit_topidthefts')> > > Scott Barbour, Getty Images > > 5 photos > > > > <javascript:oKE.pgPopUp('walletpop-credit_topidthefts')> Previous > > > > <javascript:oKE.pgPopUp('walletpop-credit_topidthefts')> Next > > On Aug. 17, federal investigators announced what is said to be the largest > identity theft ring in U.S. history. Thieves targeted more than 130 > million > credit and debit card numbers used at 7-Eleven stores, supermarket chain > Hannaford Brothers and those processed by Heartland Payment Systems. > Heartland, coincidentally, suffered another major breach just last year. > > (Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker) > > http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_ > urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=539197&pid=539196&uts=1250594 > 715 > > http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf > > Top Data Breaches > > On Aug. 17, federal investigators announced what is said to be the largest > identity theft ring in U.S. history. Thieves targeted more than 130 > million > credit and debit card numbers used at 7-Eleven stores, supermarket chain > Hannaford Brothers and those processed by Heartland Payment Systems. > Heartland, coincidentally, suffered another major breach just last year. > > Scott Barbour, Getty Images > > Scott Barbour, Getty Images > > > > <http://www.walletpop.com/credit/article/albert-gonzalez-charged-with-theft- > of/625932?feeddeeplinkNum=0> > > Top Data Breaches > > > On Aug. 17, federal investigators announced what is said to be the largest > identity theft ring in U.S. history. Thieves targeted more than 130 > million > credit and debit card numbers used at 7-Eleven stores, supermarket chain > Hannaford Brothers and those processed by Heartland Payment Systems. > Heartland, coincidentally, suffered another major breach just last year. > > Scott Barbour, Getty Images > > The Checkfree attack announced in January 2009 exposed 5 million records > and > came at the hand, apparently, of Ukrainian hackers. > > Checkfree Corp. / Fiserv > > The data breach at the Bank of New York Mellon Shareowner Services > involved > 12.5 million records and was the top breach in 2008. > > BNY Mellon Shareowner Services > > Hannaford Bros. Supermarkets had a computer system breach that exposed 4.2 > million records in 2008, the second-highest tally of the year. > > Stephan Savoia, AP > > The data breach at Countrywide in 2008 was only the fifth largest of the > year, with 2 million records exposed, but the company has had such bad > headlines in recent times that the bad news only hit harder. > > Richard A. Brooks, AFP / Getty Images > > > > > > > > > > Albert Gonzalez, 28, broke his own record for identity theft by hacking > into > retail networks, according to prosecutors, though they say his illicit > computer exploits ended when he went to jail on charges stemming from an > earlier case. > > Gonzalez is a former informant for the U.S. Secret Service who helped the > agency hunt hackers, authorities say. The agency later found out that he > had > also been working with criminals and feeding them information on ongoing > investigations, even warning off at least one individual, according to > authorities. > > Gonzalez, who is already in jail awaiting trial in a hacking case, was > indicted Monday in New Jersey and charged with conspiring with two other > unnamed suspects to steal the private information. Prosecutors say the > goal > was to sell the stolen data to others. > > How much of the data was sold and then used to make fraudulent charges is > unclear. Investigators in such cases say it is usually impossible to > quantify the impact of such thefts on account holders. > > Prosecutors say Gonzalez, who is known online as "soupnazi," targeted > customers of convenience store giant 7-Eleven Inc. and supermarket chain > Hannaford Brothers, Co. Inc. He also targeted Heartland Payment Systems, a > New Jersey-based card payment processor. > > According to the indictment, Gonazalez and his two Russian coconspirators > would hack into corporate computer networks and secretly place "malware," > or > malicious software, that would allow them backdoor access to the networks > later to steal data. > > Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the new charges. > His > lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment. > > Gonzalez is awaiting trial next month in New York for allegedly helping > hack > the computer network of the national restaurant chain Dave and Buster's. > > The Justice Department said the new case represents the largest alleged > credit and debit card data breach ever charged in the United States, based > on a scheme that began in October 2006. > > Gonzalez allegedly devised a sophisticated attack to penetrate the > computer > networks, steal the card data, and send that data to computer servers in > California, Illinois, Latvia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. > > Also last year, the Justice Department announced additional charges > against > Gonzalez and others for hacking retail companies' computers for the theft > of > approximately 40 million credit cards. At the time, that was believed to > be > the biggest single case of hacking private computer networks to steal > credit > card data, puncturing the electronic defenses of retailers including T.J. > Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and OfficeMax. > > Prosecutors charge Gonzalez was the ringleader of the hackers in that > case. > > At the time of those charges, officials said the alleged thieves weren't > computer geniuses, just opportunists who used a technique called > "wardriving," which involved cruising through different areas with a > laptop > computer and looking for accessible wireless Internet signals. Once they > located a vulnerable network, they installed so-called "sniffer programs" > that captured credit and debit card numbers as they moved through a > retailer's processing networks. > > Gonzalez faces a possible life sentence if convicted in that case. > > Restaurants are among the most common targets for hackers, experts said, > because they often fail to update their antivirus software and other > computer security systems. > > Scott Christie, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in New > Jersey, said the case shows that despite the best efforts by companies to > protect data privacy, there are still individuals capable of sneaking in. > > "Cases like this do cause companies to sit up and take notice that this is > a > problem and more needs to be done," said Christie. > > Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP > news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise > distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. > Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. > > 2009-08-17 16:08:16 > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and > everything below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary. > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or modify your email settings: > //www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk > OR > To subscribe to the mailing list, send an email to > pctechtalk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject. 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