Hackers Shift Attacks to Small Firms

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304567604576454173706460768.html

By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER And BEN WORTHEN
The Wall Street Journal
JULY 21, 2011

Recent hacking attacks on Sony Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. grabbed 
headlines. What happened at City Newsstand Inc. last year did not.

Unbeknownst to owner Joe Angelastri, cyber thieves planted a software 
program on the cash registers at his two Chicago-area magazine shops 
that sent customer credit-card numbers to Russia. MasterCard Inc. 
demanded an investigation, at Mr. Angelastri's expense, and the whole 
ordeal left him out about $22,000.

His experience highlights a growing threat to small businesses. Hackers 
are expanding their sights beyond multinationals to include any business 
that stores data in electronic form. Small companies, which are making 
the leap to computerized systems and digital records, have now become 
hackers' main target.

"Who would want to break into us?" asked Mr. Angelastri, who says the 
breach cut his annual profit in half. "We're not running a bank."

[...]


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