Fergie's Tech Blog

'Malware' Stole Hannaford Data

Ross Kerber writes in The Boston Globe:

A massive data breach at Hannaford Brothers Cos. was caused by a "new and sophisticated" method in which software was secretly installed on servers at every one of its grocery stores, the company told Massachusetts regulators this week.
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The unauthorized intrusion the company disclosed on March 17 stemmed from software that intercepted card data from customers as they paid with plastic at store checkout counters, and sent the data overseas, Hannaford's top lawyer said in a letter sent to Attorney General Martha Coakley and Governor Deval Patrick's Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.

The software was installed on computer servers at each of the roughly 300 stores operated by Hannaford and its partners. Hannaford did not say how the software might have been placed on so many servers, and company spokeswoman Carol Eleazer said the company continues to investigate how the software was installed and other specifics of the breach. The Secret Service, which pursues currency crimes, is conducting its own investigation.

Data security specialists say the new details show how hackers have grown more adept at penetrating weak links in the systems that connect merchants and banks.

posted by Fergie @ 3/28/2008 11:42:00 AM