Intruders found their way into Amazon division Bibliofind, which hooks up buyers and sellers of rare or out-of-print books, and maintained convenient access to a database of 98,000 customer accounts for about four months.

The intruders are believed to have downloaded the company's customer records, including credit card details, names and addresses, though the company denies that any of the credit cards have since been used fraudulently.

Incredibly, the company remained blithely ignorant of its problem, which began in October and continued until some time last week when its admins finally gained consciousness and discovered it. Apparently, the site was defaced not long ago, and this event triggered a much-needed peek at the server logs.

Bibliofind closed its Web site on Friday as a precaution against getting rooted again while it tries to shore up its defences.

"We are working to bring the Bibliofind service back into operation shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you," the company said brightly in an e-mail memo to its customers.

It is not known whether the person who defaced the site, and consequently inspired the company to observe that its arse was exposed to the known universe, has been rewarded for his or her crucial contribution to Bibliofind's future security. ®

Story Update

Amazon, despite denials, was warned about hack