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The holiday season data breach at Target that hit more than 70 million consumers was part of a wide and highly skilled international hacking campaign that's "almost certainly" based in Russia. That's according to a report prepared for federal and private investigators by Dallas-based cybersecurity firm iSight Partners.

And the fraudsters are so skilled that sources say at least a handful of other retailers have been compromised.

"The intrusion operators displayed innovation and a high degree of skill," the iSight report says.

The report doesn't say specifically how Target's network was breached but says that a virus was injected into the retail giant's credit card swiping machines, and that malware allowed hackers to collect data from the magnetic stripes on payment cards. The problem for the security companies hired to protect retailers is, according to iSight, the malware the bad guys are using can't be detected by anti-virus software.

Who are these guys? Well, it's all part of an underground market that's been running for years — Planet Money featured this dark credit card underworld in 2011 — and the hackers writing data-stealing code are getting more sophisticated than ever.

"There's already a lot of breaches related to the Target breach that aren't being disclosed," says Avivah Litan, a retail industry analyst for Gartner. "The chances that we'll see another big breach like this are probably 80 percent."

All Tech Considered

Security Experts Say Data Thieves Are Getting Harder To Fight

Ruling that "voting laws are designed to assure a free and fair election" and that Pennsylvania's "Voter ID Law does not further this goal," a state judge on Friday struck down that controversial statute.

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley's ruling is posted here.

The Associated Press writes that:

"McGinley said the requirement that was the centerpiece of Pennsylvania's embattled 2012 voter identification law places an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote.

"The decision paves the way for an expected appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Republicans approved the law over the protests of Democrats.

"During a 12-day trial this summer, plaintiffs said hundreds of thousands of voters lacked acceptable IDs and the inconvenience of getting a photo ID might discourage some from voting. State officials insisted there were ample opportunities for voters to get a valid ID if they had none.

"The court has barred enforcement of the law since [shortly before] the 2012 general election."

When a federal ban on slaughtering horses to produce horse meat was lifted several years back, ranchers including Rick De Los Santos, a New Mexico rancher and owner of Valley Meat Co, stepped up to start operations with an aim to export the meat.

But, as we've reported, his plans for a horse meat slaughterhouse have hit major road blocks. There have been lawsuits to stop him and others trying to get into the business. And plenty of stories about the ick factor evoked by the image of butchering a beautiful thoroughbred.

Now, given a bit of language written into the omnibus spending bill that was approved by the Senate Thursday night, it's seeming more certain that there will be no horse slaughtering on U.S. soil in the foreseeable future. The House already approved the spending measure, which now heads to President Obama for his signature.

The provision bans the funding of U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections at horse slaughter plants. And without inspections, slaughterhouses can't be in business. Game over.

"Americans do not want to see scarce tax dollars used to oversee an inhumane, disreputable horse slaughter industry," argues Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society in this release. He has been lobbying for a ban on funding for horse slaughter inspections.

"We don't have dog and cat slaughter plants in the U.S. catering to small markets overseas, and we shouldn't have horse slaughter operations for that purpose, either," Pacelle writes.

For retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), it's a win he helped usher through.

"These incredible companion animals don't deserve to be callously slaughtered for human consumption," his office wrote in an email to The Salt. "We fought hard for the past three years to reinstate this ban to prevent slaughter facilities from reopening on American soil."

The flip side of the argument is that horse slaughter is a practical way to handle the problem of abandoned horses. Horses can be very expensive to maintain, and when owners can't afford them, it's not unheard of for them to be sent to factories in Mexico and Canada.

That's the argument put forth by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who tried but failed to strike the ban on funding inspections from the spending bill.

"Without these facilities, aging horses are often neglected or forced to endure cruel conditions as they are transported to processing facilities across the border," Inhofe wrote in a release. "This provision is counterproductive to what animal rights activists are hoping to achieve."

And Inhofe is not giving up yet.

Before last night's Senate vote, Inhofe said he and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) plan to introduce separate legislation that would lift the ban on funding for horse slaughterhouse inspections.

Big Bad Wolves

Director: Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado

Genre: Thriller, Black Comedy

Running Time: 110 minutes

Not rated; contains violence, torture, and frank talk about pedophilia

With Lior Ashkenazi, Rotem Keinan