STOLEN DATA AND FRAUD: THE HANNAFORD BROTHERS DATA BREACH

As more and more personal and financial information is stored online, data breaches - the unintentional exposure of confidential information - are becoming an increasing concern for both the organizations which must keep that data safe and the customers who may become victims of credit card fraud or identity theft if they fail to do so. Unfortunately, the number of data breaches is on the rise: according to one report, 2008 was the biggest year ever for data breaches--with more customer records compromised than the prior four years combined. One of the most publicized victims of a 2008 data breach was the Hannaford Brothers grocery chain. This case will examine the details of the Hannaford Brothers case, including a timeline of theft, discovery and response, the nature of the stolen data and how the criminals engineered this data breach. In the process of this examination students will get a closer look at the nature of credit card data, how stolen data is used to commit fraud, the industry security standards in place to keep that data secure, and how they were circumvented for this data breach to occur. Finally, the repercussions and costs to Hannaford Brothers will be detailed.