Comments on: Alleged TJX hackers charged

Eleven people have been charged with hacking eight major U.S. retailers, including TJX, but only three are currently in custody.

[zanely]

When, oh when, are we going to start passing some laws that make it a criminal offense for corporations to leave customer information on unsecured servers, to transmit unencrypted credit data in the clear or to otherwise expose a company's customers to identity theft, credit loss or theft. There will always be thieves in the world and everyone knows you have to lock your door if you don't ant to lose your stuff. If you want to see an end to this type of gross incompetence, all you'd need is one photo of the CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever21, or DSW being marched off to prison in handcuffs. Guaranteed that the next morning IT Managers and CTO's all over the US would be securing their customer's information.

[Get_Bent]

I have a simple solution: pay for your purchases in cash. No credit card numbers to be stolen, no shopping habits to be tracked.

[Mister C]

Great Idea, people walking around with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in their pockets! That gives me an idea for a excellent business opportunity, all I need is a ski mask and a Saturday night special. Wow, I could make a fortune.

You know what else, all we need is a car that runs on water and we can solve the energy crisis.

[Mergatroid Mania]

Haw haw haw.
How much more proof do people need to realize that the internet IS NOT SECURE for credit card information, or any other personal information! Every time a person uses his credit card on the internet for a purchase, he is also getting a free entry into the Credit Card Theft Lottery, and you never know when you'll win! Just like any other lottery, YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T ENTER. The only word I can think of that aptly describes people who use credit cards over the internet is...SUCKER!

[paulej]

Mergatroid,

Were all or any of those transactions over the Internet? I suspect the vast majority were not Internet transactions. There are really two parties to blame here: those who stole the credit card information and those who employed extremely weak security measures. Having said that, it's not much different than stealing numbers processed by any restaurant near your home. Find their phone line, put a recorder on it, and collect credit card numbers all day long. Still, the retailers in this case should have had better security. WEP?!?! Geee... somebody should have been fired.

[benjaminstraight]

Finally

[BenjaminWright]

Careful reading of the indictments of the TJX data thieves show that the media, card issuers and Federal Trade Commission over-reacted to the TJX incident. The TJX break-in was not as bad as we were led to believe. --Ben http://legal-beagle.typepad.com/wrights_legal_beagle/2008/08/credit-card-iss.html