The Nasdaq Stock Market and companies like 7-Eleven, Carrefour SA, JCPenney Inc., JetBlue Airways, and Visa Inc. lost more than "hundreds of millions of dollars" in what is said to be the one of the largest computer hacking incidents to date. New Jersey federal prosecutors said that more than a dozen companies were targeted by the hackers who were able to make illicit profits through identity theft. According to court documents that were made public Thursday, the data breach started in 2005 and continued to run even last summer. The perpetrators stole over $300 million from at least three of the target firms.
Authorities said the theft was committed by five men who were located in Russia and Ukraine. Two were already placed in custody, but the three are still at large and are now considered fugitives. Computer-hacking conspiracy, unauthorized computer access, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud are just some of the charges that the suspects will have to face in court.
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