Credit Card Data Stolen, Posted on Net

An extortionist posted on the Internet credit card data stolen from CD Universe after the music shopping Web site refused to give in to a demand for $100,000, its parent company said Monday.

EUniverse Inc. said the unidentified offender claimed to have copied credit card data from about 300,000 accounts. The company reported the threat to the FBI on Saturday and shut down the Web site after discovering some of the customer information was placed on the Internet.

The EUniverse security breach underscores growing concern about the vulnerability of Web sites to Internet crime even as consumers have become more confident about shopping online with credit cards, analysts said.

Although the FBI declined comment, law enforcement officials said the agency is investigating.

“This points to the fact that security on the Internet is an evolving area,” EUniverse Chairman Brad Greenspan said. “I don’t think anyone or anything is immune.”

Coincidentally, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Monday called upon states to increase surveillance of cyber-crime and set up a system of round-the-clock cooperation.

“We need to restructure and reequip law enforcement to fight crime at Internet speed,” she told a meeting of the National Assn. of Attorneys General at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto.

EUniverse said it hired a technology security firm to review its security procedures. Shares of Wallingford-based EUniverse closed off 75 cents at $4.50 in over-the-counter trading.