And You Think Your Computer Is Safe From Hacking?

[waldwolf]

If you think your computer is safe from hackers, think again.

Late today, in what is believed to be the largest breach of computer security, it was discovered hackers had planted a "backdoor" trojan on the computers belonging to one of the largest credit card data processing companies in the US.

It is estimated over 40 million credit card numbers as well as personal data, may have been stolen. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and other cards are effected.

A MasterCard representative said over 68,000 accounts have already had fraudulent charges posted to MasterCard customers accounts.

ThaiVisa members who carry one of the above branded cards, are advised to check their credit card account(s) frequently between billing dates, to insure no unauthorized charges have been posted.

This is once again, proof positive, you cannot be too cautious when it comes to using a computer/internet connection for personal or business financial transactions. You are hackable!

[Jai Dee]

It is estimated over 40 million credit card numbers as well as personal data, may have been stolen. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and other cards are effected.

This is scary stuff...

Has it been determined that only US card data has been stolen?

[h90]

when it was a creditcard processing company, than it might be international cards.

but keep in mind, most cases are still and I would say 90 % different cases.

Like you pay in a restaurant, the service guy, takes your informations and orders online (or if he more advanced, he make a new card out of it).

Or they stupid guy who enter his card for age verification (and/or payment) on the internet to see some nice ladies without clothes.....

than his wife checks the statement and a new case of "fraud" is born because he don't want to remember that.....

so always good to check the statements, and in case of something wrong, open a disput on it. It normaly works.

Or use American Express, they are a lot safer.

It is estimated over 40 million credit card numbers as well as personal data, may have been stolen. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and other cards are effected.

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This is scary stuff...

Has it been determined that only US card data has been stolen?

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[bdenner]

Credit card fraud always worries me as such I check my MasterCard statement through an Internet Banking facility at least once a day .

This is not directly related but:-

Buying airline tickets online is convenient and I use it wherever possible but it leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I have as much protection (virus – firewall etc.) in my machine as I believe is necessary but I don’t think this gives me any credit card protection so:-

How safe is it to make online purchases?

Does it depend on the integrity of the vendor?

Can I be hacked whilst doing it?

[waldwolf]

...How safe is it to make online purchases?

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It would depend on your credit cards policy. Many card issuers indemnify the holder, in the event their card is lost, stolen or fraudently used, provided the card holder notifys the issuer within a reasonable period of time.

Some cards (ie: American Express) will issue you a special "card number" valid only for one transaction at a designated price. That number can not be used for any additional purchases.

Does it depend on the integrity of the vendor?

Yes. If you have any suspecions about a vendor, check them out with either a local better business organization and/or local law enforcement agencies. Your credit card company would be another source to check on their ethical status. Remember, their computers are also prone to hacking.

Can I be hacked whilst doing it?

Yes. It would be possible, even easy, depending on a number of factors. The worse condition would be your entering personal financial information on a website that is not encrypted (https), using a WiFi connection (data from which can be caught and recorded up to several miles from the source), or utilizing a public access computer such as those found in internet cafes or public libraries.

- - - - -

Keep in mind that over 300 new viri and trojans appear each week. In addition, as was apparently in the above case, a "backdoor" trojan was planted on the credit card processors computers, which continually feed data for weeks, to an as yet unnamed source.

Now, if you think that is bad, it has recently been discovered there are viri/backdoor trojans which are undetectable by any current antivirus software. Further, these new viri implant themselves, move around and "hide" so effectively, the only way to get rid of them is to do a complete reformat and reinstall. Thus far, these new-type viri appear aimed at servers, but I would imagine we'll see them on most other computers before too long.

As with life itself, there are no guarantees.

cheers

[sajal]

Late today, in what is believed to be the largest breach of computer security, it was discovered hackers had planted a "backdoor" trojan on the computers belonging to one of the largest credit card data processing companies in the US.

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any clue which processing company it was.....so i can verify wether i in anyway went thru it...

[Crossy]

It was CardSystems Solutions in Atlanta.

Details on the BBC website:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4107236.stm

Scary

[waldwolf]

devel_dog - As Crossy stated, the card processing company was CardSystems Solutions of Atlanta, Georga, however, the computers hacked were in their Tucson, Arizona facility.

I don't believe you could track your card slips, unless you can actually get hold of the original charge slip that was processed. I don't believe those are returned to anyone these days, certainly not by Amex, Visa or MasterCharge. In most instances they don't even return your payment check . (They just electronically deduct the funds from your bank account.)

[Steve2UK]

Credit card fraud always worries me as such I check my MasterCard statement through an Internet Banking facility at least once a day .

This is not directly related but:-

Buying airline tickets online is convenient and I use it wherever possible but it leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I have as much protection (virus – firewall etc.) in my machine as I believe is necessary but I don’t think this gives me any credit card protection so:-

How safe is it to make online purchases?

Does it depend on the integrity of the vendor?

Can I be hacked whilst doing it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have an extra credit card which I use specifically for online purchases. I asked the issuing (UK) bank to put a low credit limit on it - it took some persuasion but they did it. After a while, they sent me the usual letter telling me the great news that my credit limit had been increased. Another 'phone call and I got them to reduce it again.

[bdenner]

Late today, in what is believed to be the largest breach of computer security, it was discovered hackers had planted a "backdoor" trojan on the computers belonging to one of the largest credit card data processing companies in the US.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

any clue which processing company it was.....so i can verify wether i in anyway went thru it...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

From ABC News ONLINE:-

Security breach may have affected 50,000 Mastercard holders.

It is thought at least 50,000 Mastercard holders in Australia could have been affected by a security breach at a card processing company in the United States.

The security breach was reported last Friday in the US by credit card transaction company, Cardsystem Solutions.

The company said hackers have stolen the personal data of some credit card customers.

Mastercard says up to 40 million card holders may have been compromised by the security breach and 50,000 of those are in Australia.

A spokesman has confirmed that some banks in Australia began reporting unusual transactions as early as December last year.

He says the NAB, ANZ and Commonwealth have cancelled some customers' credit cards.

Visa is yet to confirm how many of its cardholders may have had their details stolen.

[pomchopkao]

...You are hackable!...

I guess we all are!

No amount of security will ever give 100% protection if one has something of interest to be stolen, but I got FA in my computers! (..and I try to be/am careful not to leave any 'sensitive' info hanging around) so hackers, crackers, phishers and other low life cyberphuckers should be sorely dissapointed if they should come to stick their noses in my drives..