More Than 1,800 Cases of Fraud Linked to Hannaford Brothers Server Hack

Malware Blamed for Identity Theft

March 29, 2008 - Millions of credit card numbers and other personal information were stolen from supermarket servers in the Northeast and Florida recently. The theft was enabled by unauthorized malware (malicious software) that was unknowingly installed on Internet-based servers for Hannaford Brothers' supermarkets. Credit card and debit card numbers were stolen over a three month period as they were swiped at checkout.

This breach in security of 4.2 million credit and debit cards was unique because it happened as the cards were swiped. Most credit card theft happens when information is stored on a server. In this case, information was stolen as it moved between servers. Malware of this nature is commonly found on Internet servers, including DNS servers. Capturing personal information while in transit is called "snooping."

More than 1,800 cased of credit card fraud have been traced back to the Hannaford Bros. breach. Unauthorized charges were recorded as far away as Mexico, Bulgaria, and Italy. Malware is blamed for hundreds of such crimes on the Internet each year. Server administrators are warned to take care that all servers are gaurded from possible malware installation.

Source: Mercury News

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