Tuesday Morning News Kick Off: ‘Massive’ World Cup Data Breach, Sprint Employees Cause $15 Million Data Breach and More

Written on September 7, 2010 – 7:28 am | by Jasmine Haller

Welcome to what is normally the Monday Morning News Kick Off post on a post-holiday weekend Tuesday. We hope everyone is rested up and ready for another work week. As always, we have compiled all the key identity theft, data breach and cyber security stories you need to jump start the week. And, we urge our readers to stay tuned for more of our “Best Person” and “Worst Person” posts — where we aim to enlighten and entertain all in one. Happy Tuesday!

Investigators Reveal ‘Massive’ World Cup Data Breach It should come as no surprise to any football fan with even a passing contempt for the game’s governing body that FIFA have yet again dropped a sizeable bollock, a bollock that stands a very good chance of ruining many innocent supporters’ lives. News has broken this morning that a database containing the personal details of hundreds-of-thousands of football fans that purchased World Cup tickets through official FIFA-sanctioned outlets has been stolen and incrementally sold on. The information has been passing hands for as much as £500,000, and is said to contain the passport details and birth dates of nearly 250,000 football fans that attended games at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Nine Former Cell Phone Company Employees with Stealing Customer Information in $15 Million Cell Phone Cloning Scheme Nine people, all former employees of a national cell phone service provider, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft for their alleged roles in a $15 million cell phone cloning scheme. The charges, which were unsealed today, were announced by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Brian Parr, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service. According to the complaint, from at least January 2010 through June 2010, the nine defendants worked for an unnamed national cell phone service provider, with two of them working in New York, four working in New Jersey, and three working in Tampa, Florida.

NIST: More Research Needed for Smart Grid Cybersecurity Further research is needed to ensure the cybersecurity of a smart grid, according to a newly released set of guidelines from a public-private group formed under the aegis of the National Institute of Standards of Technology. The guidelines come in a three-volume report on high-level requirements regarding cybersecurity strategy and architecture for organizations developing a replacement for the aging electricity infrastructure with a grid that can respond to real-time consumption information gleaned from individual household usage.

FBI Arrests Identity Theft Suspect The federal government says it has broken up a large Spokane-area identity theft scheme run by a longtime criminal with ties to the white supremacist community. Wayde Lynn Kurt is in the Spokane County Jail on a federal weapons charge after his arrest by the FBI Monday. On Thursday, prosecutors called the 52-year-old Kurt a dangerous criminal who flees police and is skilled at making fake identification. They said he has fled law enforcement many times and once rammed a police vehicle. Last year he violated probation by contacting a jailed white supremacist leader and convicted felon.

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