Hackers plunder Adobe Systems' user data

"Very recently, Adobe's security team discovered sophisticated attacks on our network, involving illegal access of customer information as well as source code for numerous Adobe products," Adobe chief security officer Brad Arkin said in a blog post.

"Our investigation currently indicates that the attackers accessed Adobe customer IDs and encrypted passwords on our systems," he said.

Hackers are believed to have taken information relating to 2.9m Adobe customers. The stolen data was said to include customer names, encrypted credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates and other information relating to people's orders.

It appeared that no decrypted credit or debit card numbers were pilfered, according to Arkin. "We deeply regret that this incident occurred," Arkin said. "We're working diligently internally, as well as with external partners and law enforcement, to address and resolve the problems."

Adobe was resetting the passwords of customers whose information was taken and alerting people whose credit or debit card numbers were stolen.

The California-based company was also investigating the theft of source code crafted into its products and said it didn't believe it increased the risk of hackers breaking into programs people may be using.

Adobe makes a range of widely-used computer programs including Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign and a ColdFusion web application development tool among a host of others.

Brian Krebs of the website KrebsOnSecurity said that it appeared the same attackers recently struck data brokers and a US-funded centre devoted to honing skills involved in the investigation and prosecution of cyber crime.

It remained to be seen whether those breaches exploited Adobe software.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge