Yasir, our indefatigable searcher after crises, has come up with another Incident Database and as you can see from the title we are in the realm of the nerds and geeks. Yes it's cyber-crime time.
Date: 25.08.08
Location: USA / Europe
Type: Incident
Category: Crime / Reputational
Description: The Best Western Hotel chain has had to refute claims made by the Glasgow Sunday Herald, that an Indian hacker accessed personal data of over 8 million customers staying at their 1,312 European hotels. Best Western hit back saying the story was ‘grossly unsubstantiated’ but conceded that data was accessed by an unauthorized person but claimed only one hotel was affected. The hacker is thought to have obtained the details by accessing the online booking system through a key stroking program.
Comment: This incident demonstrates the ever-increasing threat businesses encounter from hackers, which can anger customers and tarnish the reputation of the company involved.
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Date: 28.08.08
Location: UK
Type: Incident
Category: Crime / Technology
Description: Self-checkout tills in UK supermarkets are being targeted by hi-tech criminals, using stolen US credit cards. Magnetic strips are removed and attached to fake credit cards. Fraudsters use the self-checkout service to avoid contact with staff. The scam only works on swipe and sign transactions, which are still common in the US. Security experts say this type of credit card fraud, where stolen cards are used in another country, is becoming increasingly common.
Comment: The international nature of credit card fraud makes it difficult to combat and indicates the need for the US to adopt pin numbers on a countrywide basis.
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Date: 26.08.08
Location: U.K.
Type: Incident
Category: Crime / Technology / Reputation
Description: A computer, containing approximately one million customer bank details, has been sold on EBay for £35. American Express, RBS and NatWest, confirmed that some of their customers were affected. The computer had belonged to Graphic Data, which stores financial information for organisations. RBS viewed the incident as a serious breach and are working closely with Graphic Data to minimise and resolve the situation. American Express said it was working 'as a matter of priority' to establish which of its cardholders could have been affected.
Comment: This highlights the need for firms that hold client sensitive information to have rigorous security protocols in place. The FSA can fine financial institutions for loss of information. The Nationwide were hit with a £980,000 fine for the loss of a laptop that contained client information.
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