Security breaches are a norm in our world. Reports of hacking attacks are accepted with less fuss as expecting rain in the forecast. And the trend will only multiply as companies rush to entice their customer with the latest online and mobile conveniences, and customers sign up without reading privacy notices and disclaimers. I mean, today I was able to deposit a personal check in my Capital One checking account right from my office. I used my iPhone 5S to take a picture (back and front) of the check, and made my deposit right on the phone! I can check my checking and savings account balances, credit card transactions....you name it, on my iPhone.
Every now and then I have to remind myself that convenience comes with a price, and last Friday was a start reminder / wake up call for me. I attempted to use my Capital One credit card but the charge was denied. I didn't think anything of it, until i checked my email later that afternoon. Capital One had sent me a fraud alert; someone was able to obtain my credit card information and make several purchase at delivery.com, buy movie tickets, and order music on iTunes. Thankfully my card was canceled after about a few hundred dollars of suspicious activity, and I once again made a resolution to take even harsher measures to protect myself online.
E Hacking News reported yet another security breach in the past few days; at Bartell Hotels. Over 40,000 customers were affected. The company reported the security breach occurred in February 2014 and May 2014, and have listed a Security Compromise Notice on their homepage. The company took several steps to deal with the matter: they used independent data
forensic experts, they notified law
enforcement and credit card companies, and are alerting customers who were affected. They have also provided a toll-free information line for customers, and are providing free services by AllClear ID to provide
identity monitoring and identity protection services. It's just not good enough to try to 'hide' information when a company has experienced a security breach. Kudos to Bartell Hotels for doing the right thing!
http://www.ehackingnews.com/2014/09/security-breach-at-bartell-hotels.html
Hackers continue to breach security and post data at their whim! Five million email addresses and passwords were posted on a Russian forum today, available for anyone in the world to see and make use of. The ease of obtaining and posting this type of confidential information makes me cringe!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/09/how-to-check-if-you-were-exposed-by-todays-5-million-password-leak/379960/