Advertiser Charged in Massive Database Theft

[UpInArms]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4364-2004Jul21.html

Federal authorities yesterday charged an online advertiser in Florida with tapping into the computer system of a large database marketer in Arkansas and stealing "vast amounts of personal information" about Americans in what they described as one of the largest network intrusions in recent memory.

Prosecutors filed a 139-count indictment against Scott Levine, 45, of Boca Raton, in the Eastern District of Arkansas. Federal prosecutors say Levine exploited network links his company had to Acxiom Corp. in Little Rock and secretly downloaded millions of names, e-mail and home addresses and other details.

Levine was identified as the owner of Snipermail, an e-mail company that mailed out pitches for advertisers or their brokers. Acxiom, one of the world's largest data aggregators, has information about virtually every adult in America. It also manages and enhances data for major banks, insurers, direct marketers, the credit bureau TransUnion and others. It has developed some of the world's most sophisticated data analysis software, some of which it uses for homeland security screening for government contracts.

...more...

I would think that Acxiom would have to face some charges for not keeping this information more secure.