The 5 biggest data thefts in U.S. history.

An indictment came down last summer for what’s being called one of the biggest data theft operations in U.S. and international history, as four Russian men and one Ukrainian man were charged in a sophisticated hacking scheme that may cost its victims hundreds of millions – or even billions – of dollars.  The men stole data that included over 160 million credit card numbers from multinational corporations like Visa, J.C.Penny, JetBlue, 7-Eleven, and even NASDAQ, selling the information on the black market and defrauding countless consumers.

The men utilized custom malware and hacking tools to get on the corporate networks and rip blocks of credit card numbers, security info, and other private date, referred to as “dumps.”  They’d then sell the dumps to data theft wholesalers – or resellers – who resold it to individual buyers, called “cashers,” who would use the cards to make fraudulent purchases or withdraw funds.   According to the indictment, U.S. credit card data would cost $10 each while Canadian cards went for $15 and European bank or credit card access $50.

Their criminal ring took place from 2005 until 2012 where they tapped into computer networks of at least 17 payment companies, financial institutions, and retailers to get the credit card and debit card information.  The companies are still trying to add up their staggering losses, possibly in excess of $300 million for some of them.  The men are looking at a long paid vacation behind bars, but still the damage has been done. 

The scariest thing is that this kind of data and financial theft is not rare – online fraud and data piracy is the fastest growing branch of any crime, so prevalent that it’s highly recommended computer users and online shoppers take proactive measures to protect their financial data, their identity, and their credit scores.   

Let’s look a few of the other biggest data thefts in U.S. history:

U.S. Veterans Affairs - $25-$30 million

In 2006, the names, birth dates, and social security numbers of 17.5 million veterans were pirated from a single laptop that a Department of Veterans Affairs worker had taken home for the evening,  That one leak cost the VA an estimated $25-$30 million dollars if you add up the cost to fix the problem with reimbursements, call centers, mailing warnings, credit monitoring services for the victims, and other “clean up” well over $20 million dollars and counting.  The lesson?  Never take your work home.

Heartland Payment Systems - $140 million

This major payment-processing center was the victim of a cyber crime in 2008 that saw the loss of 100 million credit and debit cards.  A lone hacker from Miami, Albert Gonzalez, was apprehended, arrested, and sentenced to 20 years in Federal prison as the ringleader of the operation that defrauded TJX, 7-Eleven, and the grocery chain Hannaford Bros.  Heartland ended up paying out $140 in fines and restitution. 

TJX – $256 million or more

Speaking of Inmate Albert Gonzalez, the same man was a major player in 2007’s data heist at TJX, the retailer that has TJ Maxx and Marshalls under its umbrella.  Data hackers and Gonzalez stole about 45 million credit and debit card numbers that they used to buy millions of dollars worth of electronics from Wal-Mart and other chains.  The crime cost the company about $25 million in direct costs but the real price tag to consumers and insurance claimants stands to be over $250 million.

Epsilon - ???

The Dallas Marketing firm Epsilon was hacked for millions of names and e-mail addresses in 2011, which the criminal ring used to acquire sensitive financial data from consumers.  The information featured lists from banks and retailers like Best Buy, JPMorgan, TiVo, Walgreen, and Kroger.  The stolen data is still being rounded up and the damage assessed and addressed, so risk analysts estimate the total bill to be anywhere from $225 million dollars to upward of #4 billion once the dust settles.