Hackers Ransom Personal Information
August 20, 2008 – 9:50 amTraditionally, identity thieves tend to use personal information to open up new lines of credit or rack up charges on current credit accounts. One international group of hackers tried a different approach. They hacked into the online database of White Wolf Publishing, a company that sells table top games. After stealing the sensitive personal information and encrypted passwords, they approached the company demanding ransom for the return of the data.
They threatened to post the data online if they did not receive payment of a large sum that has not been disclosed to the public. When the company refused to pay, the hackers began emailing individual customers offering to sell them the stolen information for $10. This ten-dollar information package could be used by other identity thieves to rack up thousands of dollars worth of charges. While this particular group of hackers doesn’t fit the profile of seasoned identity thieves, they did demonstrate just how easily they can wreak havoc on small online companies, and facilitate large scale identity theft.
Tags: Hackers, identity theft, LifeLock Reviews
