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Korean Report Puts The Number Of TJX Victims at 40 Million

Written by Evan Schuman
February 4th, 2007

The attribution in this Chosun Ilbo (a major Korean newspaper) story is a bit thin?as in ?The credit card industry announced Sunday,? which suggests the image of a stunningly crowded podium?but the essence of the story is still an interesting way to start the week.

It reports that the ?private data of around 10,000 Koreans who use credit cards associated with Visa, MasterCard and American Express was stolen? in the TJX incident.

?The credit card industry announced Sunday that an intruder had gained access to the databases of TJX Companies and stole sensitive information of about 40 million card users including 10,000 Koreans,? said the newspaper?s online story. ?This is the largest information leakage since 2005, when the networks of Visa and MasterCard were hacked, affecting 15,000 Koreans and 40 million more people around the world.?

TJX itself has avoided releasing the number of impacted customers. It?s unclear where the 40 million figure is coming other than this mysterious ?credit card industry announced Sunday.? But this is yet another interesting wrinkle in the story that won?t sleep.

Posted in IT Strategy/Industry, Payment Systems, Security/Fraud
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