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January 2008

‘Hacker safe’ Web site gets hit by hacker. On Friday, Geeks.com, a $150 million company specializing in the sale of computer-related excess inventory and manufacturers’ closeouts, began notifying an unspecified number of customers whose personal and financial data may have been compromised by an intrusion into the systems that run the online technology retailer’s Web site. The compromised information included the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and Visa credit card numbers of customers who had shopped at Geeks.com, according to a copy of the letter that was posted on The Consumerist blog. Its Web site prominently proclaims that it is tested on a daily basis by ScanAlert Inc., a vendor in Santa Clara, California, that agreed in October to be acquired by McAfee Inc. McAfee officials were not immediately available to comment on what might have happened at Geeks.com. A telephone operator at Geeks.com’s headquarters in Oceanside, California, said that she was unable to find anyone at the retailer who could comment about the incident. Last week’s notification included a number for non-U.S. residents to call, suggesting that the breach may have affected customers in other countries as well. According to a letter, which was signed by chief of security at Geeks.com, the intrusion has been reported to local law enforcement authorities, as well as to the U.S. Secret Service. The incident has also been reported to Visa without providing any indication of why only Visa card numbers appear to have been compromised.