Since they had access and collected customers' payment card information, hackers Neiman Marcus triggered alerts about 60,000 unnoticed, as reported by Businessweek. Hackers gained access to company computers for almost eight months and had stolen July data payment card customers to October of last year.
Why alerts go unnoticed for so long?
The warnings went largely unnoticed because hackers deliberately given similar names malware payment software Neiman Marcus, with the intention for alerts to go unnoticed, as they did for three and half a month, according to Businessweek. A company spokesman also explained that the alerts triggered by the pirates were about less than 1 percent of daily entries reported to the security team, which explained it as another reason why the alerts have been missed.
Was it failure related to the breach of the target?
The survey of Neiman Marcus has found that hackers are not bound to target pirates. Hackers Neiman Marcus used the skills and coding much more sophisticated. They even went as far as to automatically remove malware from the POS system every day, which means that it must be regularly recharged in the system. On the other hand, in the middle of February KrebsOnSecurity revealed that a phishing email to a third party supplier led to the breach of the target.
How many cards were actually stolen?
In addition to all the details of the pirates, the investigation of the company also found that fewer cards were affected by the breach than the 1.1 million originally reported. Now, the company reported that the number of cards exposed in the breach total 350,000 with 9,200 of these cards being used for fraud since the violation.
What can I do to protect myself?
If you shopped at Neiman Marcus from July to October, then you should follow all the steps below to ensure that your personal and financial information remains secure.
1. Sign up for identity theft protection: This is a step that both Neiman Marcus and Target recommend. Retail stores offer customers a one-year subscription to ProtectMyID, but this service is not enough to protect the identity of their customers not only because it does not respond in terms of monitoring the credit report, but also in terms of identity check. Get all the details on the second-rate ProtectMyID service and to learn what services will best protect your credit and identity.
2. Check your statements carefully: Since the Neiman Marcus pirates may have had your information since July, it is essential that you go through all your bank and card credit to make sure you were the only one to complete all transactions. If you notice any unknown or potentially fraudulent transactions, you should call your bank and report them immediately. A representative of the bank will be able to guide you through the process of fraud reports.
3. Learn about a new credit or debit card: If you find fraudulent charges on your statement, then this is a step that the bank will ask you to take. That said, if you have confirmed fraud on your account, then the bank may not be willing to resend you a card, but there is no harm in asking. Considering that 350,000 cards were exposed and only 9200 were used for fraud, there are still about 340,800 cards that can be used for either fraud or have been republished. If you are one of the cards that still has the same card number, then you put yourself at greater risk for fraudulent use.
If you think you have been victim of identity theft, then you'll want to follow the steps detailed on this blog to restore your credit and good name.