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Hannaford Bros. Cyber Security Lessons Learned Essay

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Introduction
Virtually every business today uses at least one form of computer information technology. Business firms use computers to automate and assist in managing everything from operations, sales, finance, and logistics. Internal databases and intranets are used for internal controls and organizations are connected via the internet to conduct sales, marketing and many other communications and transactions. Electronic business, or e-business, is dominating modern markets and the business world. This new world of technological innovation has exponentially increased efficiency and globalized the world’s economies. Unfortunately criminals still exist and continue to exploit businesses, committing acts of theft, vandalism, and terror. …show more content…

The company is targeting people who shop for groceries the most, families. The visual colors and photographs are geared towards women and create a warm and enticing mood. Hannaford creates a competitive advantage for them by offering the shopper planning services to their customers. They are not just a cold internet retailer where somebody logs in to buy products and leaves. The website creates an environment that endears people to their stores. The Hannaford Bro. Website (2011)
The Security Breach and Hannaford Bros. Reaction
On March 17, 2008 Hannaford Bros. Co announced that it had been the victim of a computer hacker attack against their computer network. The Hacker, Albert Gonzalez , who was eventually arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison had accessed Hannaford’s network and stole approximately 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers between Dec. 7 2007 and March 10 2008. The security breach affected all of Hannaford's stores in New England and New York, as well as subsidiary stores under the Sweetbay name in Florida and several independently owned stores selling Hannaford products. The data breach forced banks across the East Coast to block and reissue hundreds of thousands of credit and debit cards. Jaikumar Vijayan (2008) The State of Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions website (2011)
Hannaford later posted an advisory on their web site signed by President and CEO Ronald Hodge,

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