Retail hacking ring charged

Eleven perpetrators allegedly involved in the hacking of nine major US retailers and the theft and sale of more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers have been charged with numerous crimes, including conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft, says Market Watch.

The scheme is believed to constitute the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Three of the defendants are US citizens, one is from Estonia, three are from Ukraine, two are from the People's Republic of China, and one is from Belarus. One individual is only known by an alias online, and his place of origin is unknown.

Mercent, a provider of online marketing technology and services for retail merchants, has released Mercent Retail with expanded conversion tracking and advertising optimisation tools for Google Checkout, reports Market Watch.

Google Checkout is the latest shopping cart technology integrated with Mercent Retail, alongside cart-based marketplace programmes operated by Amazon.com, Buy.com, and SHOP.COM.

Mercent Retail offers online sellers consolidated control over ads that convert across disparate online sales channels including Google Checkout to increase conversion rate, order volume and profits.

Alien Technology Corporation, a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) products and services, in partnership with STS, recently implemented a retail level garment tracking system with LCWaikiki in Istanbul, Turkey, states Market Watch.

With more than 190 stores nationwide, LCWaikiki is one of Turkey's fastest growing apparel retailers.

As a result of the STS/Alien RFID garment tagging project, LCWaikiki has been able to improve efficiency in stocktaking and stock transfer and improve its return on investment.