In Credit Card Processing

Data breaches are something that a myriad of businesses need to worry about each and every day in order to keep the livelihood of their business afloat. There are some times, no matter how many precautions you take, that data breaches occur. Among the thousands of data breaches that happen each year, some of the biggest noted here. One of the biggest data heists in history happened to CardSystem Solutions in June 2005. CardSystem Solutions is one of the top payment processors for Visa, Master Card and American Express. At the time of this data heist, over 40 million credit accounts were compromised. How exactly did they do this – through a SQL Trojan attack. Another notable attach occurred at the Department of Veteran Affairs. This 2006 attack compromised the information of 26.5 million veterans, including social security numbers and dates of birth. This hack was made possible because a laptop and hardrive containing the database were stolen from a VA analyst’s home in Maryland. Perhaps a more memorable hack was of AOL in August of 2006. Over 650,000 user inquiries were posted publicly, but in this case it was AOL who mistakenly did it. This goes down as one of the “101 Dumbest Moments in Business” according to Business 2.0. Whether in the merchant services business, or in online payment processing, keeping the data of your customers is imperative. Read about the most talked about hacks in the infographic below.

Security Breach

The Biggest Data Heists in History

Card System Solutions

One of the top payment processors for Visa, Master Card and American Express.
When: June 2005
Stolen: 40 million credit card accounts
How hackers did it: An SQL trojan attack

 

Department of Veteran Affairs

Provides medical and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents.
When: May 2006
Stolen: Information from 26.5 million veteran including social security numbers and dates of birth.
How hackers did it: A laptop and hard drive containing the database was stolen from a VA analyst’s home in Maryland.

 

America Online (AOL)

One of the early internet’s biggest search engines and providers.
When: August 6, 2006
Stolen: 650,000 user inquires posted publicly.
How hackers did it: In this case, AOL actually posted the data. This incident of internal research accidentally going public was named as one of the “101 Dumbest Moments in Business” by Business 2.0.

 

Fidelity National Formation Services

A banking and payment technology company based in Jacksonville, FL.
When: July 2007
Stolen: 3.2 million customer records, including credit card information.
How hackers did it: A former disgruntled database administrator sold the data to marketing firms.

 

Monster

One of the biggest job search websites in the U.S.
When: August 2007
Stolen: 1.3 million job seekers information was used in a phishing scam.
How the hackers did it: Hackers stole passwords from clients of the site and broke into the resume library.

 

Heartland Payment Systems

New Jersey based credit card processing company.
When: March 2008
Stolen: 134 million credit cards.
How hackers did it: An SQL injection installed spyware onto company’s data systems.

 

Google

The biggest internet search engine, ever.
When: Mid-2009
Stolen: Company intellectual property.
How hackers did it: The Chinese government launched a massive attack on the search engine. Since then Google has ceased all operations in China.

 

PlayStation Network

The PlayStation gaming console’s online community.
When: April 20, 2011
Stolen: Information from 77 million user accounts, including 12 million unencrypted credit cards.
How hackers did it: Viewed as the biggest gaming data breach of all time, the source of the hacking has still not been found.

 

Subway

The Largest sandwich shop chain in the world.
When: March 19, 2013
Stolen: $40,000 in fraudulent gift cards.
How hackers did it: A former Subway store owner sold software to an accomplice.

 

U.S. Airways

Now merged with American Airlines, a major U.S. Airlines.
When: August 8, 2013
Stolen: 7,700 account holders credit card information.
How hackers did it: Accounts were accessed through unknown means.

 

Target

One of the biggest retail stores in the United States.
When: November/December2013
Stolen: Debit and credit card information from over 70 million shoppers.
How hackers did it: Hackers were able to access customer PIN numbers online.

 

Bitcoin and the Collapse of Mt. Gox

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system that uses electronic currency in an open source market.
Until recently Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world. However, attacks on network security and a lack of reliability caused the company to file for bankruptcy on February 28, 2014.
Many worry that this could mean the end of Bitcoin but there is more to take away from the episode… weeding out immature companies, such as Mt. Gox, may help Bitcoin to become a more legitimate marketplace. Bitcoin companies will need to work together to create systems that are not only effective but secure. An open source network will be a game changer, and like other technology needs time to mature.

 

Sources:
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/2013-was-the-worst-year-for-data-breaches
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2014/02/17/data-breach-hearing
http://foxbusiness/industries/2014/02/18/target-breach-costs-banks-credit-unions-more-than-200m/
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/28/whats-not-being-said-about-bitcoin
http://www.greensheet.com/emagazine.php?story_id=3871

Data breaches is a daily concern for many businesses. Leap Payments offers the solutions you need to keep confidential information safe and secure.
 

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