It seems that hardly a day goes by that we don't see reports in the news about the risks posed by data leaks, or of sensitive information that made its way into the wrong hands. More information is now out on the latest leak - a credit breach at a U.S.-based supermarket chain, Hannaford Brothers - and malware is said to have enabled the scam.

Reports say that a targeted malware attack is to blame for this data breach which exposed over 4 million credit and debit card numbers to identity thieves. According to a recent CNET News article, the malware was installed on computer servers at each of the 300-plus stores in the Hannaford chain, and enabled card numbers to be intercepted and sent overseas.

The data heist, which began in December 2007 and wasn't contained until March, took place when shoppers swiped their cards at checkout line machines, according to reports. Over 1,800 known cases of fraud have resulted from the incident, Hannaford has said.

Read the full story here.