Betfair Reveals Credit Card System Hacked 18 Months Ago

Hackers stole millions of credit card numbers from Betfair over 18 months ago, the company just announced. While Betfair claims it notified authorities in Germany and Australia as soon as it found about the attack, customers have been in the dark until now.
Background on the Security Breach
Betfair knew something was fishy when one of its servers crashed almost two months after the attack but the company felt it wasn’t necessary to update its customers because the data was unreadable and the thieves couldn’t use it for fraudulent activities.
While the hackers have not been identified authorities believe the criminals may be located in Cambodia.
Betfair Takes Action to Contain Damages
No one knew about the crisis until a Betfair employee sent a confidential report to the Daily Telegraph. Is it a coincidence this report was sent less than a week after Betfair announced its intention to be listed on the London Stock Exchange? So far, no accusations of insider trading have been made.
Nonetheless, Betfair has responded and is telling its customers the situation is under control. The company reviewed the security systems for weak points and has taken necessary security measures. It hired independent security analysts to review the existing security system. Betfair has incorporated their suggestions into their new system and believe it will be much more secure.
Spokespersons for Betfair assure their customers that all necessary precautions are being implemented to prevent such another security crisis. Although Betfair insists it has the situation under control that may prove little consolation for the 3 million the customers who went 18 months without knowing their data had been compromised.
On the other hand, some people in the profession feel the media is being too harsh on Betfair. A post in Gambling Online Magazine claims the media has been on a crusade to punish online gambling sites since Black Friday. Betfair may have acted inappropriately by not informing their customers about the security breach, but the media’s accusations of a scandal are premature.
What do you think about the Betfair security breach? Share your thoughts in the comments below.