Category Archives: Cyber Crime

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Heartland Hacker Pleads Guilty

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You remember the January 2009 data breach of Heartland Payment Systems that exposed 130 million personal records, right? You should — it was the largest data breach of all time.

To give you a little background, Heartland Payment Systems processes 100  million credit and debit card transactions per month for 175,000 merchants. In late 2008, a hacker accessed the computers Heartland uses on a daily basis, jeopardizing 130 million customer records.

And finally, after almost one year of investigations, officials charged 28-year-old Albert Gonzalez of Miami. He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to the payment card networks operated by Heartland, among other payment processing companies. But this was not Gonzalez’s first run-in with the law for hacking-related activities.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty in September 2009 in Boston to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers including TJX Companies, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority. Gonzalez also pleaded guilty in September 2009 in Boston to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to hacks into the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain, which were the subject of a May 2008 indictment in the Eastern District of New York.

Who knows where this cyber-scoundrel would have attacked next, had he not been caught. He faces sentencing in March for his crimes and will likely be sentenced to 17 to 25 years in prison.

Let’s take a look at the largest data breach incidents on record, listed by number of records breached, date and organizations affected.

[TABLE=7]

As hackers become more sophisticated, more pressure is put on IT risk managers. And with budgets tight and resources lacking, we will undoubtedly see our share of data breaches well into the future.

130,000,000 2009-01-20 Heartland Payment Systems
94,000,000 2007-01-17 TJX Companies Inc.
90,000,000 1984-06-01 TRW, Sears Roebuck
76,000,000 2009-10-05 National Archives and Records Administration
40,000,000 2005-06-19 CardSystems, Visa, MasterCard, American Express
30,000,000 2004-06-24 America Online
26,500,000 2006-05-22 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
25,000,000 2007-11-20 HM Revenue and Customs, TNT
17,000,000 2008-10-06 T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom
16,000,000 1986-11-01 Canada Revenue Agency

Close to 100 in U.S. and Egypt Charged With ID Theft

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The Associated Press recently reported that nearly 100 individuals have been charged in one of the largest identity theft rings ever uncovered. The defendants hail from California, Nevada, North Carolina and Egypt. The scam targeted two banks and close to 5,000 U.S. citizens, with combined losses of up to $2 million.

The group engaged in “phishing” to retrieve personal information on the unsuspecting victims — a common method among those who commit identity theft.

As San Diego News Network states:

The ring consisted of computer hackers in Egypt sending out “phishing” messages, or mass e-mails directing people to fake banking Web sites, where they were instructed to enter personal information. The information was then used to transfer money between the victims’ accounts to ones that could be withdrawn from by co-conspirators in the United States. According to the FBI, between $1 million and $2 million was stolen.

33 people have been arrested in the United States while another 21 are being sought. In Egypt, 47 have been taken into custody.

United States businesses lose an estimated $2 million per year as their clients become victims of "phishing."

United States businesses lose an estimated $2 million per year as their clients become victims of "phishing."

Breakin’ the Law — Internet Commerce Style

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A recent study found that a large amount of websites selling electronic goods throughout Europe are breaking consumer laws. The analysis focused on 369 sites selling electronic equipment in 28 European countries.

“We discovered that more than half of the retailers selling online electronic goods are letting consumers down,” said EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

EU authorities carried out the investigation, which found that the biggest failure of the companies/websites observed was the breaking of the return of goods rule.

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The authorities chose the websites based on their popularity and also if the site was the source of previous complaints.

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The investigation found the following:

  • Two-thirds (66%) failed to adequately explain that consumers had seven days to return a product bought over distance for a full refund and without giving a reason. Others failed to explain the right to have a faulty product repaired or replaced for at least two years after sale
  • Details about extra delivery charges were missing or difficult to find on the website in 45% of cases
  • A third (33%) did not fully outline the trader’s name, address or email details so they could not be contacted if there was a problem

The websites under question will be contacted  and, if they fail to change their ways, could face fines and other enforcements. Maybe the U.S. should start their own investigation.

Major Cyber Attacks Hit Government Agencies

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American and South Korean government agency websites have been attacked by, what some may call, cyberterrorists. The sites have been mostly inoperable since the attacks began during the July 4th holiday weekend.

Access to at least 11 major Web sites in South Korea — including those of the presidential Blue House, the Defense Ministry, the National Assembly, Shinhan Bank, the mass-circulation daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo and the top Internet portal Naver.com — have crashed or slowed down to a crawl since Tuesday evening, according to the government’s Korea Information Security Agency.

Major U.S. websites were also targeted, including those of the White House, Pentagon and the New York Stock Exchange. The National Intelligence Service feels confident that the attacks were executed not by an individual, but by a “specific organization or on a state level.

The South Korean news agency, Yonhap, has reported that the National Intelligence Service believes North Korea or pro-North Korean groups are responsible.

This high-level attack is reminiscent of the cyber warfare reportedly enacted by Russia towards Georgia just one year ago. Corresponding with Russia’s ground war, the country also launched attacks on websites of Georgia’s president, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, adding to the country’s chaos.

The attacks will be difficult to trace, said Professor Peter Sommer, an expert on cyberterrorism at the London School of Economics. “Even if you are right about the fact of being attacked, initial diagnoses are often wrong,” he said Wednesday.

The fact that cyber attacks are so difficult to trace gives attackers the confidence to continue their crimes of cyber warfare on a prolific level — all at the expense of confidential personal information and even classified government records.

Will the Obama Administration’s multi-billion dollar cyber security project be strong enough to stop such sophisticated hackers?