Conviction Registered in Largest US Data Theft Case

Florida-based Snipermail.com, an email marketing contractor, and its owner Scott Levine, were convicted of stealing 1.6 billion customer records from data management company Acxiom Corp. It is the largest such theft the U.S. government has prosecuted to date. Snipermail.com contracted to collect contact information and send bulk e-mail advertisements for an advertiser whose data was stored on Axciom Corp's server. The contractor's access was intended to be limited, but when Snipermail.com realized that it had access to a vastly greater number of records, it started downloading them. An interesting feature of the situation was that prosecutors contended the data theft was designed primarily to make Snipermail.com more attractive for a corporate buyout. The theft had resulted in the temporary enlargement of the target company's data under management. The decision by Acxiom Corp to report the theft quickly probably prevented major identity theft, and the only victim was apparently the corporation. For an article in The Globe and Mail, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?P4A8214BB For an article on News.com, visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?W1B8254BB Summary by: Nyall Engfield