Clues to Massive Hacks Hidden in Plain Sight

It’s sad that a group of volunteer security professionals have done more to uncover the truth about huge security breaches involving customer data than the actual financial institutions do. People read about these data breaches and never think anything could happen to them. Trust me on this, no one should have to wake up to emptied bank accounts because your bank drug their feet telling you about the breach.

The next morning, as the world watched the presidential inauguration, Heartland issued a press release acknowledging it had been hacked. Intruders had penetrated its computer network and compromised possibly hundreds of thousands of consumer credit and debit card accounts. The timing of the press release raised suspicions that the company was trying to bury the announcement on a day when the country was focused on inaugurating Barack Obama.

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