41 million credit card numbers hacked

Here we go again, like a broken record. The Justice Department this week charged 11 people with stealing more than 41 million credit and debit card numbers in what has been described as the largest hacking and identity theft ring ever exposed.

The government said the scheme was engineered by a multinational organized crime ring, and hit major national retail chains like OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, BJ's Wholesale Club, the Sports Authority and T. J. Maxx.

"Computer networks and the Internet are an indispensable part of the world economy. But even as they provide extraordinary opportunities for legitimate commerce and communication, they also provide extraordinary opportunities for criminals, said Michael B. Mukasey, the United States attorney general, at a news conference in Boston to announce the indictments.

According to the indictment, the ring leaders drove around and scanned the wireless networks of retailers to find security holes. Once they identified technical weaknesses in the networks, they installed so-called sniffer programs and intercepted customers, PINs and debit and credit numbers that were stored there.

For more on this scheme:
- see The New York Times article