Five charged as Feds bust largest credit-card hack in history

Hundreds of millions stolen from biggest names in US

NASDAQ hacked

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say they've busted what could be the biggest credit card hacking fraud in US history, with companies such as NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, and Dow Jones falling prey to an Eastern European criminal gang.

According to the indictment, the gang stole data on up to 160 million credit cards and then sold them on in underground forums so that they could be written onto blank cards and be used to withdraw funds. The losses for just three of the many companies they targeted came to over $300m, according to the authorities.

"This type of crime is the cutting edge. Those who have the expertise and the inclination to break into our computer networks threaten our economic well-being, our privacy, and our national security," said US Attorney Paul Fishman in a statement.

"This case shows there is a real practical cost because these types of frauds increase the costs of doing business for every American consumer, every day. We cannot be too vigilant and we cannot be too careful."

Up to 160 million credit cards stolen from NASDAQ | The Register