Egghead says hacker didn't get access to cards

Online retailer Egghead.com announced Monday that an intruder into its system more than two weeks ago did not grab any numbers from its database of 3.7 million credit cards.

Egghead CEO explains hack attack Jeff Sheahan, CEO, Egghead

"Our internal investigation...has uncovered evidence which suggests that Egghead.com's existing security systems interrupted this intrusion while it was in progress," Egghead CEO Jeff Sheahan said in a statement.

On Dec. 22, Egghead announced that it had detected an intruder into its system, who may have accessed the database of information on the retailer's 3.7 million customers.

As previously reported, the Menlo Park, Calif., company handed over its entire database to the credit card industry on Dec. 21, suggesting that it believed the card numbers contained in the database were at risk.

Today's statement--after 17 days of investigation--seems to refute previous suspicions that the data had been stolen.

"Our first priority has been to protect our customers," Sheahan said in the statement. "We deeply regret any inconvenience this may have caused them, but we firmly believe that providing this information would help limit any possible damage, and give our customers the choice of taking precautions to protect their privacy."

Security firm Kroll Worldwide conducted the company's search for evidence after the break-in. The firm cooperated with the FBI, which was brought in on the case Dec. 22.