• 08 SEP 17
    • 0

    Another massive hack in America

    Following on from the last message on supposed Russian hackers, today hackers have succeeded in another massive theft if sensitive data. It isn’t so important just who the hackers are, be they Russian, Chinese, North Korean or little green men from Mars. The point is that online data is inherently not safe and with online data being the new oil it will always be an attractive target.

    This obviously has grave implications for the security of customer data stored online by the smart grid. In Australia there seems to be no concern on part of the government, the electricity sector and all political parties who have been sold on the smart grid, smart meters and the Internet of Things (IoT) as one of the solutions to the energy crisis.

    Don

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    From the Washington Post

    Hackers access database that has personal data for 143 million Americans from credit reporting agency Equifax

    September 7 at 5:40 PM
    Excerpt

    Criminal hackers gained access to files including sensitive personal data on 143 million Americans “” Social Security numbers, birth dates and home addresses “” by penetrating a Web-based application for Equifax, the credit reporting agency said Thursday.

    The breach, which the company said began in May, was discovered in July. Though Equifax said in a statement that its “core database” was not penetrated, the attackers did gain access to a wide range of data on what appears to be a majority of American adults, as well as some British and Canadian consumers.

    Social Security numbers and birth dates represent particularly sensitive data, giving those who possess them the ingredients for identity fraud and other crimes. Equifax said that it also lost control of an unspecified number of driver”s license numbers, along with the credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers and credit dispute documents for 182,000.

    SNIP

    Read the full article here

    Also see another article on a large data breach that may impact millions of individuals in Ecuador. The leaked database includes over 20 million individuals.

    https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/report-ecuador-leak/

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