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Considering the data breaches in recent years, it is now more apparent than ever that there should be significant measures – by any organization, individual, government or business – to keep their files and online data safe.
As a result of the 2017 Equifax data breach, 147 million people had their data exposed. Not only did they put their customers in a vulnerable positions, the company must also pay at least $575 million and up to $700 million to help the victims of the breach.
Capital One’s database was attacked in March of this year, but they didn’t detect the hack until July. Due to this breach, approximately 140,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 bank accounts were stolen by one hacker, as far as investigators know by press time in early August.
Even before those two, customers from substantial companies such as Yahoo, eBay, Target, JP Morgan Chase and Sony, among others, fell victim to cyber attacks as well.
The repercussions of these hacks will be felt by the entities and their exposed customers for several years to come.
With data breaches happening to trusted and established companies like Equifax, Capital One and other countless companies over the years, the harsh realization is that a breach of files and/or data can happen to any business or any person, as hackers have many tools at their disposal.
“In a credential stuffing attack, a hacker loads up a database with as many usernames and passwords as he or she can get their hands on. Those login credentials are fed into an automated hacking tool that hammers away at a website,” reads an article by Lee Mathews of Forbes. “You can think of a hacker’s password database as a key ring. The more keys there are, the more likely it is that the attacker will find one that unlocks your account.”
More important than how a hacker gets your online data and/or stored files, is what they use them for.
Some hackers have been known to hold sensitive files of individuals and businesses hostage, threatening to publish them if not paid a ransom.
For online data, it can be as easy as maxing out credit cards in your name or selling your data to the highest bidder on the black market.
“These black markets are growing in size and complexity. The hacker market—once a varied landscape of discrete, ad hoc networks of individuals initially motivated by little more than ego and notoriety—has emerged as a playground of financially driven, highly organized and sophisticated groups,” states a report by the non-profit RAND Corporation. “In certain respects, the black market can be more profitable than the illegal drug trade; the links to end-users are more direct, and because worldwide distribution is accomplished electronically, the requirements are negligible.”
“There is no perfect security package. The most common reaction is, ‘But I have anti-virus’,” said Ed Spoon, Internet services manager at Houma’s Computer Sales & Services (CSS). “The second [misconception of cyber security] is the belief that you could actually receive a legitimate phone call from Microsoft, Google, the IRS, etc., asking for info about you or your account.”
Spoon said to help keep your personal data and files safe, store them in a secure backup on a non-connected external media that’s kept somewhere off site.
If you have been breached, Spoon recommends cleaning the computer, wiping it completely if in doubt. He then said to restore the computer from backup and make sure to monitor all bank and credit card activity.
CSS, located at 1162 Barrow St. in Houma, is an authorized reseller for HP and Xerox. Their experts can configure and repair networks, and CSS also offers managed IT services and Internet solutions. •
BY DREW MILLER
