data breach: Mobile Provider Data Breaches: Know Your Risks
- 03/24/23 12:44 PM
Last week, AT&T reported the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches. The company announced that approximately 9 million customer records, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers, were stolen from a third-party marketing firm that had been given access to the data by AT&T.
How do these large-scale data breaches happen?In several recent cases, criminals targeted marketing firms that provide advertising to mobile carriers or that develop campaigns for mobile users. In the AT&T case, it was noted that the stolen data included eligibility for phone upgrades, making it reasonable to assume that the data breach was … (6 comments)
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data breach: What the Equifax Data Breach Can Teach Us About Security Fatigue
- 07/30/21 06:03 AM
If you buy anything, anywhere, you are at risk of a cyber threat. Though you probably know that cyber threats exist, if you are like most of us, you don’t’ know what to do when it comes to being safe online, and if you become a victim, you really don’t know what to do. This is all important as we prepare for the next big breach like the one that happened with Equifax. If you use credit, you are a potential victim here.
According to Equifax, more than 147 million people were affected by the breach, and most of us had or … (3 comments)
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data breach: DoorDash Admits 4.9 Million Affected by Data Breach
- 11/07/19 05:03 AM
DoorDash has admitted that it has been the victim of a data breach, which has affected about 4.9 million merchants and people.
In a recent blog post, DoorDash announced that it noticed some odd activity early in September from a third-party service. After looking into it, the company found that an unauthorized third party was accessing user data from DoorDash on May 4, 2019. DoorDash immediately took steps to stop any future access and to improve security.
Those who were affected by this breach joined DoorDash on April 5, 2018 or before. Those who joined after that specific date were not part of … (14 comments)
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data breach: The “Mother of All Data Breaches?” It Could Be Here…
- 05/16/19 06:57 AM
You have probably heard of one data breach after another these days, but this is one that you should really pay attention to: more than 772 million unique emails, along with more than 21 million unique passwords, have been exposed.
Troy Hunt, who runs the website “Have I Been Pwned,” first reported this breach, and he says that a huge file (87 GB) was uploaded to MEGA, a cloud service. This data was then sent to a popular hacking site, and now hackers have access to all of these passwords and email addresses.
This data breach, known as “Collection #1,” is very serious. … (12 comments)
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data breach: Facebook in the Spotlight Once Again for a Massive Data Breach
- 04/18/19 09:27 AM
It’s a new day, so you should expect news about another data breach—again, with Facebook. According to research, tons of Facebook user data was recently exposed on cloud computing servers owned by Amazon.
According to UpGuard, a cybersecurity firm, it is believed that Facebook app developers store the data on the servers, but they did so in a way that allowed the public to download it. One of these groups stored more than 500 million records on the servers, but it’s not yet clear how many people might have been affected. Another developer stored Facebook passwords for more than 20,000 people.
According to … (3 comments)
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data breach: 2017 Was the Worst year for Data Breaches EVER!
- 09/06/18 06:30 AM
It seems like 2017 broke records for all the wrong reasons…one of them being the worst year for data breaches in history.
According to reports, hacking was the most common way to collect this data, but almost 70% of exposures occurred due to accidental leaks or human error. This came down to more than 5 billion records. There were several well-known public leaks, too, including the Amazon Web Services misconfiguration. More than half of the businesses using this service were affected, including companies like Verizon, Accenture, and Booz Allen Hamilton. The scariest part of this, however, is the fact that the number … (2 comments)
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data breach: Protecting Yourself from Data Breach requires Two Step Authentication
- 03/08/18 06:47 AM
Have you ever thought about how a data breach could affect you personally? What about your business? Either way, it can be devastating. Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect your personal or business data, and it’s easier than you think. Don’t assume that protecting yourself is impossible just because big corporations get hit with data breaches all of the time. There are things you can do to get protected.
All of your important accounts should use two-factor authentication. This helps to eliminate the exposure of passwords. Once one of the bad guys gets access to your password, and that’s … (11 comments)
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data breach: Equifax Exposed: Major Breach of Data from Major Credit Bureau
- 09/08/17 11:51 AM
If you haven’t yet heard, Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, has been hacked. What does this mean for you? It means that your Social Security number, and possibly even your driver’s license information, could be in the hands of hackers. Some are already calling this the worst breach of data in history.
How Did This Happen?
On September 7th, Equifax announced that a security breach occurred that could impact as many as 143 million people. Though this isn’t the largest breach to occur, it could be the most devastating. The data that was accessed included Social … (17 comments)
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data breach: Security training: the Human Being is impossible to fix
- 12/08/16 06:16 AM
As long as humans sit at computer screens, there will always be infected computers. There’s just no end to people being duped into clicking links that download viruses.
A report at theregister.co.uk explains how subjects, unaware they were guinea pigs, fell for a phishing experiment.
Subjects were sent an FB message or e-mail from an unfamiliar sender, though 16 percent of the subjects who ultimately clicked reported they knew the sender. The sender announced they had images from a New Year’s Eve party but not to share them. 43.5% clicked the FB message link and one-quarter clicked the e-mail link. Many of … (2 comments)
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data breach: Three Quarters of a Billion Records breached
- 04/20/16 12:07 AM
Last year, says the security firm Gemalto, over 700 million records were breached. Or, to put it another way, this translates to two million stolen or lost records every day.
2015 Breach Level Report
1,673 hacking incidents 398 were triggered from the inside of the attacked company: employees and even IT staff who were tricked (social engineering) by hackers into clicking on malicious links or attachments Government agencies suffered the greatest data leaks. Following that were nation states and healthcare enterprises (remember the big Anthem breach?) Gemalto also says that the U.S. is the leading target of cyber attacks, with the UK, … (3 comments)
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data breach: Three ways to beef up security when backing up to the cloud
- 03/21/16 12:14 AM
Disasters happen every day. Crashing hard drives, failing storage devices and even burglaries could have a significant negative impact on your business, especially if that data is lost forever. You can avoid these problems by backing up your data.
Backing up means keeping copies of your important business data in several places and on multiple devices. For example, if you saved data on your home PC and it crashes, you’ll still be able to access the information because you made backups.
A great way to protect your files is by backing up to the cloud. Cloud backup services like Carbonite allow you to store data … (2 comments)
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data breach: How much is your Data worth online?
- 02/08/16 09:36 PM
Cyber crime sure does pay, according to a report at Intel Security blogs.mcafee.com. There’s a boom in cyber stores that specialize in selling stolen data. In fact, this is getting so big that different kinds of hot data are being packaged—kind of like going to the supermarket and seeing how different meats or cheeses are in their own separate packages.
Here are some packages available on the Dark Net:
Credit/debit card data Stealth bank transfer services Bank account login credentials Enterprise network login credentials Online payment service login credentials This list is not complete, either. McAfee Labs researchers did some digging and … (23 comments)
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data breach: Data security policies need teeth to be effective
- 02/08/16 09:29 PM
Bottom line: If you have a data security policy in place, you need to make sure that it’s up to date and contains all of the necessary elements to make it effective. Here are 10 essential items that should be incorporated into all security policies:
1. Manage employee email
Many data breaches occur due to an employee’s misuse of email. These negligent acts can be limited by laying out clear standards related to email and data. For starters, make sure employees do not click on links or open attachments from strangers because this could easily lead to a ransomware attack.
2. Comply with software licenses and … (1 comments)
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data breach: How to recycle Old Devices
- 01/20/16 09:58 PM
When it comes to tossing into the rubbish your old computer device, out of sight means out of mind, right? Well yeah, maybe to the user. But let’s tack something onto that well-known mantra: Out of site, out of mind, into criminal’s hands.
Your discarded smartphone, laptop or what-have-you contains a goldmine for thieves—because the device’s memory card and hard drive contain valuable information about you.
Maybe your Social Security number is in there somewhere, along with credit card information, checking account numbers, passwords…the whole kit and caboodle. And thieves know how to extract this sensitive data.
Even if you sell your device, don’t assume … (4 comments)
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data breach: Tips for backing up and protecting your data while traveling
- 12/20/15 09:58 PM
The season of giving is now upon us — but don’t forget, it’s also the season of stealing — and no, I don’t mean your wallet or the gift package at your doorstep, but your Social Security number, credit card information, medical records and any other highly confidential information that you have stored on your computers.
Thieves want your data — the information stored in your smartphone, laptop and other devices. People are especially vulnerable to this crime when they travel. Don’t let the hustle and bustle of holiday travel detract you from protecting your data!
Make sure your devices have updated … (2 comments)
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data breach: Best practices for BYOD data storage
- 11/15/15 10:12 PM
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement has in some ways saved companies money, but in other ways put customer data at risk. Employees are onsite, telecommuting or traveling on business. This means their devices, and company data could be anywhere at any given moment.
A company manager or owner realizes that company use of employee mobile devices brings benefits. But employees also use the devices for personal activities, increasing the risk of hackers getting into company data.
The solution is to train these employees in BYOD, information security and awareness. They must be aware of how risky a data breach is, how … (0 comments)
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data breach: Human error is inevitable: Ways to protect your business
- 09/14/15 12:27 AM
National Preparedness Month is happening right now. It’s the perfect time to take action for you and your community. It’s all about making plans to remain safe, and when disasters do strike, to keep communications going. September 30th is the culmination of NPM, with the National PrepareAthon! Day.
If a burglar sees your Facebook status that you are traveling on vacation and then enters your house, and takes $10,000 worth of valuables, it’s safe to say you as the homeowner facilitated the theft. This is no different than leaving your doors unlocked when you head to the store. This lack of attention … (0 comments)
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data breach: Company for sale includes your Data
- 08/13/15 11:45 PM
When you subscribe to an online service, be careful of how much information you give out about yourself.
Most businesses in their terms and conditions, say they “respect your privacy.” But what if these companies go under or are sold? An article from the online New York Times explores this concept. Today’s market-data-hungry-businesses can gather lots of data about subscribers. This data can be transferred to third parties in the event the company is sold or goes belly up.
The New York Times recently analyzed the top 100 U.S. websites, and the revelation is that it’s par for the course for companies to … (2 comments)
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data breach: Why Hacking is a National Emergency
- 07/28/15 11:31 PM
Foreign hackers, look out: Uncle Sam is out to get you. President Obama has issued an order that allows the State Department and Treasury Departments to immobilize the financial assets of anyone out-of country suspected of committing or otherwise being involved in cyber crimes against the U.S.
This order, two years in the making, covers hacking of anything. The order refers to hacking as a national emergency. Imagine if entire power grids were hacked into. Yes, a national emergency.
Another reason hacking is a national crisis is because the guilty parties are so difficult to track down. Hackers are skilled at making it … (0 comments)
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data breach: Is your Website and Data secure?
- 05/27/15 11:44 PM
Imagine a lifeguard at the beach sitting on his perch. His job is to patrol and monitor for signs of trouble. He sees a surfer being attacked by a shark. Wow, a lot of good it does that he’s in a completely helpless position; by the time he scrambles off his perch and runs towards the water, the victim has bled out. Ouch.
This is the same concept behind cyber crime. By the time a business or everyday Internet user realizes they’ve been hacked…major damage has been done. We can’t just be reactive. We have to be preventive.
The damage can destroy a … (3 comments)
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Last week, AT&T reported the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches. The company announced that approximately 9 million customer records, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers, were stolen from a third-party marketing firm that had been given access to the data by AT&T.
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