Fergie's Tech Blog

TJX Thieves Had Time to Steal, Trip Up

An AP newswire article by Mark Jewell, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:

For at least 17 months, someone had free rein inside TJX Cos.' computers. Without anyone noticing, one or more intruders installed code on the discount retailer's systems to methodically unearth, collect and transmit account data from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards.

It's believed to be the biggest such breach of customer records ever in the United States - a theft that owes its size in part to the time the electronic heist went undetected, information security experts say.

The 17-month duration appears to be unprecedented among recent large U.S. data thefts involving hackers, according to an Associated Press review of a dozen of the biggest cases over the past four years.

Experts say the nearly year-and-a-half of undetected access could be a mixed blessing as investigators look for any incriminating evidence left behind.

posted by Fergie @ 4/13/2007 12:40:00 PM