Supermarket data breach exposes more than 4 million accounts

A Maine-based supermarket chain on Monday reported a data intrusion into its computer network that has put some 4.2 million customer credit and debit card accounts at risk, according to the company and press accounts.

No personal information, such as names or addresses, was accessed, said Ronald Hodge, chief executive of Hannaford Bros. in a letter apologizing to customers. "The stolen data was limited to credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates, and was illegally accessed from our computer systems during transmission of card authorization," he said.

Hodge added that the intrusion affected customers at Hannaford stores, Sweetbay stores in Florida and certain independently owned retail locations in the Northeast that carry Hannaford products. "We sincerely regret this intrusion into our systems, which we believe, are among the strongest in the industry," he wrote.

Of the credit card accounts exposed, 1,800 cases have been reported so far, the Associated Press reported citing a Hannaford executive. The data breach began on December 7 and wasn't contained until March 10, the same executive told the AP. Hodge said Hannaford is cooperating with credit and debit card issuers to ensure affected customers are protected. The company is working with law enforcement to help identify those responsible.

The breach of 4.2 million accounts is significant, but nothing compared with the 45.7 million accounts compromised over a two-year period in a data breach of customer records at TJX Companies, the operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls retail chains.

[mrcoder]

4 million identities will be seen as a little breach

when federal RealID program gets going in the USA. These kinds of leaks happen in every system, the bigger the badder.

There will be 300 million identities in the RealID.

The RealID database will be the most widely accessed, most coveted, and most leaky system of all time.

It will worsen the exact problem it is meant to prevent. The federal contractors who build and maintain the parts of the system will be the only beneficiaries.

[freecreditdusters]

The importance of a credit watch service

At the end of the day, you and I are the one's who are responsible for keeping track of our personal information. Obviously we cannot live in a cave, but this is our reality. It has been our reality for a long time, but few understand what to do to guard, protect, and minimize these types of occurrences.

Thanks,

Matt Sullivan, CEO of FreeCreditDusters.com

[Randall Lind]

Why did it take so long to find?

Took them over 3 month to find and fix. The news said they hacked the checkout lines. So it's not like they store your information.

They hack the debit/credit machines where you swipe your card so wouldn't banks also be responsible?