Personal Information for Thousands Exposed in Google Cache
Representing yet another example of how vulnerable your personal information is online, data (including credit card numbers, names, and addresses of approximately 22,000 people) showed up on Friday morning in a Google cache. The worldwide breach affects consumers predominately in the U.S. and the U.K., and gave away credit card numbers for multiple card companies. The majority of the data seems to consist of purchasing records from a Web site that's no longer in service.An Australian IT worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told iTnews that he made the discovery unintentionally, and that the stored records most likely came from a now-defunct payment processing gateway -- most likely a database that coordinated transactions for numerous online retailers. A spokesperson for Visa, who shares the largest number of breached cards with MasterCard, also spoke with iTnews and said that the company is investigating the matter.
Google stores old Web pages in its cache, and it's possible that the old pages could have sensitive information contained within them -- indeed, the cache security issue has plagued Google for years. It's true that "you are what you Google," and your search information remains available online. Therefore, if you want to search for front-row Michael Bolton tickets without anyone knowing, may we suggest enabling private browsing? Now, for some extra advice on how to guard yourself from identity theft, take a gander at our helpful guide located here. [From: iTnews Via: Slashdot]
Seven Security Breaches
45 Million Card Numbers Stolen from TJ Maxx and Marshall's
TJX Companies Inc., the umbrella corporation of TJ Maxx and Marshall's, was taken for over 45 million card numbers between 2004 and 2007. So much for those alleged TJ Maxx bargains.
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Thieves Snag 4.2 Million Credit Card Numbers from Supermarket Chain
Sometime between December, 2007 and February, 2008, data thieves -- infiltrating the credit card authorization system of Hannaford Brothers and Sweetbay grocery stores -- managed to obtain the information of 4.2 million cards. Close to 2,000 cases of fraud were reported.
17 New Yorkers Busted for ID Theft and Money Laundering
Back in 2007, the New York-based company Western Express International was found to be a powerful credit-card harvesting operation, responsible for trafficking 95,000 stolen card numbers. Seventeen employees were indicted.
More Than Four Million Health Records Breached in 2008
According to research firm DataLoss DB, 4.07 million individuals had their healthcare records compromised last year. We know at least two of them belonged to Britney Spears and Farrah Fawcett, and were sold by a California hospital worker.
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CardSystems Solutions Taken for 40 Million Accounts
Having snuck past the security systems of CardSystems Solutions, data thieves compromised around 40 million card accounts in 2005. No word on whether or not the company has considered changing the name to CardSystems Problems.
Hackers Who Stole Credit Card Numbers from Dave & Buster's Arrested
Last year, the Justice Department busted an international ring of hackers who had stolen an untold number of credit card numbers from the Dave & Buster's restaurant chain by installing software on the company's national servers. Reported losses were well in excess of $600,000.
11 Arrested in Theft of 41 Million Credit Card Numbers
In August of last year, Federal prosecutors charged 11 thieves in the U.S.A., former Soviet states and China with stealing 41 million credit cards' information. A Miami man, Albert Gonzalez, was charged as the group's mastermind.
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