http://www.lendingintelligence.com/news.ez?viewStory=1123&Form.sess_id=845521234&Form.sess_key=1022430845 NEW YORK, May 28 (LendingIntelligence.com) - It is almost four months after hackers using at least one Ford Motor Credit Co. authorization code stole 13,000 consumers' credit reports from Experian and the companies still do not know exactly how the scam was pulled off - although neither is saying it was at fault for the security breach. The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to look into the purported theft. What is known is this: One or more computer hackers got access to at least one Ford Credit authorization code and downloaded about 13,000 credit reports from Experian's database. How this exactly transpired is still a point of debate between Experian and Ford officials. A Ford spokesman said the hackers did not break into Ford's computer systems - contrary to some published reports - but "broke into the credit bureau's system," referring to Experian. "And it is not just one password that they got," said Dan Jarvis, the spokesman. "If you are a bank and you are dealing with credit reports, you need a whole series of codes and passwords to get into [a credit bureau's] system. It would be virtually impossible to just use some passwords. "They hacked right through Experian's system," he said. "You cannot go up to someone's door in newly fallen snow and not leave a footprint. The footprint said that it was Ford Credit. [Law-enforcement officials] do not think it was an employee of Ford Credit, and they do not think they just got hold of a password or pass code. You need a whole series of things. You need a whole basket of information. The credit reports were all random." Experian, meanwhile, said it does not fully know how the theft occurred. Yet, a company spokesman said Experian's security is anything but porous. "Our files are protected by state-of-the-art, Star Wars-style security and encryption technology," said Donald Girard, Experian director of public relations. Girard said that Experian "is pretty confident" that its database was not hacked into, "leaving a range of possibilities." Nevertheless, Girard would not blame Ford for the security failure. A Ford Credit spokeswoman said the FBI has "leads" on who perpetrated the crime. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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