because the company does not store that information online . Eurostar has yet to confirm how many people have been affected by this data breachAttack.Databreachor whether any data has been takenAttack.Databreach. The company has reported the data breachAttack.Databreachto the Information Commissioner 's Office . `` We have taken this action as a precaution because we identified what we believe to be an unauthorised automated attempt to accessAttack.Databreacheurostar.com accounts using your email address and password , '' the company told customers . `` We 've since carried out an investigation which shows that your account was logged into between the 15 and 19 October . If you did n't log in during this period , there 's a possibility your account was accessedAttack.Databreachby this unauthorised attempt . '' Customers were told to check their accounts for `` anything unusual '' and update login details on any other site where they use the same password . A Eurostar spokesman said : `` This email was sent after we identified what we believe to be an unauthorised automated attempt to access customer accounts , so as a precaution , we asked all account holders to reset their password . We deliberately never store any payment details or bank card information , so there is no possibility of those being compromisedAttack.Databreach. '' An ICO spokesman said : “ We ’ ve received data breachAttack.Databreachreport from Eurostar and are making enquiries. ” Last week , British Airways revealed that almost 200,000 further passengers may have had their personal data stolenAttack.Databreachby hackers in the September attackAttack.Databreachin what experts described as one of the biggest breachesAttack.Databreachof consumer data the UK had ever seen .
New statements from Apple make it clear that they do not believe a hacker , or group of hackers , breached any of their systems . This comes after a recent report from Motherboard that a hacker gang called the `` Turkish Crime Family '' is threatening to remotely wipe up to 559 million iPhones by April 7 . The hackers claim they hold an alleged cache of stolen accounts , and their goal is to shake downAttack.Ransomthe big Apple for $ 75,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrency . Alternatively , in lieu of those options , they will even acceptAttack.Ransom$ 100,000 in iTunes gift cards ( a potentially risky option for them ) . Apple responded to the allegation that the hackers breachedAttack.Databreachits systems , assuring their systems were not compromisedAttack.Databreach, but did not confirm if the hackers do in fact holdAttack.Databreachan entire collection of Apple IDs and passwords . Whatever information they do have , probably came from previously comprised third-parties . `` If the list is legitimate , it was not obtainedAttack.Databreachthrough any hackAttack.Databreachof Apple , '' an Apple spokesperson told Fortune in an email . `` There have not been any breachesAttack.Databreachin any of Apple 's systems including iCloud and Apple ID . '' Even if the data did n't come from an Apple breachAttack.Databreach, it could still mean your iCloud login details are out there . Fortune suggested that the logins could be from the LinkedIn hackAttack.Databreach, in which login info from 117 million accounts was sold on the black market site `` The Real Deal . '' Though , if the Turkish Crime Family really has 559 million accounts , well , a mere fraction of the 117 million from LinkedIn does n't really cut it . The hackers have been sending login information to media companies in an effort to gather attention to their scam . For example , The Next Web received a small fraction of the alleged data from the hackers , and cross-referenced the info with the site Have I Been Pwned , which checks to see if your email or username has been compromisedAttack.Databreachin a hack . Most of the samples provided to TNW do n't appear to have been involved in the LinkedIn hack or other hacks in the Pwned database , but TNW was able to accessAttack.Databreachthe accounts with the login information provided by the hackers , so the info looks legitimate . They ca n't test every login , so the small sample may not be indicative of the whole . The Turkish Crime Family also noted to TNW that all conversations with Apple were actually kept private and never reported to Motherboard . Instead , the conversation between the Turkish Crime Family and Motherboard were led by a member that has now been removed for his `` inaccuracy '' and `` lack of professionalism , '' an the group denies the authenticity of Motherboard 's report . Overall , the hacking team seems to have a hard time sticking to one story . Now , the hacker group is confirming Apple 's statement that its systems have not been breachedAttack.Databreach, and that the stolen data was obtainedAttack.Databreachthrough previously compromised systems over the last five years . The Turkish Crime Family is , in fact , not contradicting Apple . They did not breachAttack.Databreachthe company , nor did they ever state to Motherboard that they stoleAttack.Databreachthe info directly from Apple . Rather , after Motherboard 's breaking March 21 report , a breach was assumed by some news outlets such as BGR , though most media sites never directly stated that the hackers breached Apple . The Turkish Crime Family 's initial response to Motherboard , and the group 's only statement , was to extortAttack.RansomApple over an alleged cache of iCloud and other Apple email accounts . The group never stated where their cache of data came from until today when they contacted TNW in response to Apple .
SAN FRANCISCO — Hackers took advantage of an Equifax security vulnerability two months after an industry group discoveredVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitythe coding flaw and sharedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilitya fix for it , raising questions about why Equifax did n't updateVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilityits software successfully when the danger became known . A week after Equifax revealed one of the largest breachesAttack.Databreachof consumers ' private financial data in history — 143 million consumers and accessAttack.Databreachto the credit-card data of 209,000 — the industry group that manages the open source software in which the hack occurred blamed Equifax . `` The Equifax data compromiseAttack.Databreachwas due to ( Equifax 's ) failure to install the security updates providedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilityin a timely manner , '' The Apache Foundation , which oversees the widely-used open source software , said in a statement Thursday . Equifax told USA TODAY late Wednesday the criminals who gained accessAttack.Databreachto its customer data exploitedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitya website application vulnerability known asVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityApache Struts CVE-2017-5638 . The vulnerability was patchedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilityon March 7 , the same day it was announcedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability, The Apache Foundation said . Cybersecurity professionals who lend their free services to the project of open-source software — code that 's shared by major corporations and that 's tested and modified by developers working at hundreds of firms — had shared their discovery with the industry group , making the risk and fix known to any company using the software . Modifications were made on March 10 , according to the National Vulnerability Database . But two months later , hackers took advantage of the vulnerability to enter the credit reporting agency 's systems : Equifax said the unauthorized access began in mid-May . Equifax did not respond to a question Wednesday about whether the patches were appliedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability, and if not , why not . `` We continue to work with law enforcement as part of our criminal investigation and have shared indicators of compromise with law enforcement , '' it said . It should have have acted faster to successfully deal with the problem , other cybersecurity professionals said . `` They should have patchedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilityit as soon as possible , not to exceed a week . A typical bank would have patchedVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilitythis critical vulnerability within a few days , ” said Pravin Kothari , CEO of CipherCloud , a cloud security company . Federal regulators are now investigating whether Equifax is at fault . The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have said they 've opened probes into the hack . So far dozens of state attorneys general are investigating the breach , and on Tuesday Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she plans to sue the company for violating state consumer protection laws . More than 23 class-action lawsuits against the company have also been proposed . Proof that Equifax failed to protect customers , particularly when it had the tools and information to do so , is likely to further damage Equifax 's financial outlook . Shares fell 2.5 % Thursday after news of the FTC probe and are down 33 % since it revealed the link .
2016 brought massive password dumpsAttack.Databreach, resulting from the highly publicized Yahoo and LinkedIn breachesAttack.Databreachthat exposedAttack.Databreachmillions of users ’ passwords to the public and for sale on the dark web . Research has revealed that about 35 % of the leaked LinkedIn passwords were already known from previous password dictionaries , making them vulnerable to other accounts . Researchers at behavioral firewall company Preempt took a look at the LinkedIn credentials and also found that 65 % of the leaked passwords can be easily cracked with brute force using standard off-the-shelf cracking hardware . The study also looked at general password intelligence and found that password rules , which many enterprises employ , can allow users to create weak passwords that can easily be cracked—and many individuals use the same password for multiple accounts , signaling a password epidemic amongst organizations and their users . “ One thing is certain , any person that used the same password for Linkedin as they did for their work account ( or other account ) , is currently vulnerable within these other accounts , ” said Preempt researcher Eran Cohen , in a blog . “ Unfortunately , there are many users that don ’ t make that connection . Their LinkedIn account was breachedAttack.Databreach, so they just change their LinkedIn password , not realizing that if they are using that same password elsewhere , they are actually exposedAttack.Databreachin all of those places as well . For IT security teams , this is an unknown vulnerability they have to deal with. ” Overall , the examination showed that low-complexity passwords can be cracked in less than a day , medium-complexity passwords are cracked in less than a week and high-complexity password are cracked in less than a month . “ Users reuse passwords . They rotate them . Add a digit to them . And even use identical or share passwords with others , ” said Cohen . “ As data scientists , it is our job to go deeper , and identify the common human behavior . For example , we ’ ve seen how local culture impacts passwords , where local football team names are commonly used as passwords . The problem is that only about 1 % of people care and are aware that passwords are based on patterns and these patterns can be tracked or broken. ” To stay safe , companies should use a password policy to enforce complexity and password expiration ; require longer passwords ( 8 bad , 10 ok , 12 good ) ; implement a context-based solution to train and enforce password policy based on users ' activity ; add additional factors to authenticate users ; and educate people to avoid sharing passwords with other employees and cloud services . They should also avoid the use of simple patterns , personal data or common words ; and employees shouldn ’ t repeat passwords when a password expires ( enumeration included ) .
Apple is reassuring customers that its systems have not been breachedAttack.Databreachwhile a hacker , or hackers , threaten to remotely wipe hundreds of millions iPhones of all their data , including photos , videos , and messages . The hackers are using an alleged cache of stolen email accounts and passwords as leverage in an attempt to extortAttack.Ransomthe world ’ s most valuable company . They claim to have accessAttack.Databreachto as many as 559 million Apple email and iCloud accounts , Vice blog Motherboard reported on Tuesday . The group , calling itself “ Turkish Crime Family , ” said it would delete its alleged list of compromised login credentials only after Apple paysAttack.Ransomit $ 75,000 in cryptocurrency , either Bitcoin or rival Ether , or $ 100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards , Motherboard reported . The group has given Apple ( aapl ) a deadline of April 7 to meet its demands . Though Apple has not officially confirmed the authenticity of the data that the hackers say they have , an Apple spokesperson told Fortune in an emailed statement that , if the list is legitimate , it was not obtainedAttack.Databreachthrough any hackAttack.Databreachof Apple . “ There have not been any breachesAttack.Databreachin any of Apple ’ s systems including iCloud and Apple ID , ” the spokesperson said . “ The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtainedAttack.Databreachfrom previously compromisedAttack.Databreachthird-party services ” . A person familiar with the contents of the alleged data set said that many of the email accounts and passwords contained within it matched data leakedAttack.Databreachin a past breachAttack.Databreachat LinkedIn . The company representative declined to elaborate on what steps Apple had taken to monitor the situation . The spokesperson merely noted that such measures , whatever they may be , are “ standard procedure ” . Apple customers who secure their iCloud accounts with the same passwords they use on other online accounts—especially ones at LinkedIn , Yahoo ( yhoo ) , Dropbox , and other sites recently revealed to have suffered big breaches over the past few years—should adopt new passwords that are long , strong , and unique . Many security experts also recommend storing them in a password manager , and activating two-factor authentication , an additional layer of security , where available .
By now , you may have heard that a hacking organization identifying itself as the Turkish Crime Family has gone hunting for a very big fish : It said that it has credentials for hundreds of millions of Apple accounts of various sorts ( including email and iCloud ) , and it ’ s threatening to wipe all of the iPhones in the cache unless a hefty ransom is paidAttack.Ransom. The group is asking forAttack.Ransomeither $ 75,000 in Bitcoin or $ 100,000 in iTunes gift cards before the April 7 deadline . Turkish Crime Family ( let ’ s call them TCF ) was first reported by Vice ’ s Motherboard as having 559 million total accounts—and other reports say there are either 200 million or 300 million vulnerable iPhone accounts . Regardless of the number , it ’ s a lot—and on the surface the news , if TCF really does have those credentials , would indicate that Apple has suffered a major data breachAttack.Databreach. Apple said in a media statement : “ There have not been any breachesAttack.Databreachin any of Apple ’ s systems including iCloud and Apple ID . The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtainedAttack.Databreachfrom previously compromisedAttack.Databreachthird-party services . We 're actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved . To protect against these type of attacks , we always recommend that users always use strong passwords , not use those same passwords across sites and turn on two-factor authentication . '' Which means that the danger , if it does exist , isn ’ t new for these Apple users . And indeed , many of the accounts could be defunct : Some of the addresses are @ mac.com and @ me.com addresses , which could be almost two decades old . Motherboard confirmed a back-and-forth conversation between the hackers and Apple security teams , but TCF has yet to publicly provide solid proof of how and what information they have , besides a YouTube video ( now removed ) that Motherboard said shows someone logging into an iCloud account . Meanwhile , ZDNet said that it was able to get a data sample of 54 allegedly breached accounts from TCF—finding that they were all legitimate email addresses . The outlet also reached 10 users that said the listed pilfered passwords were correct . John Bambenek , threat systems manager of Fidelis Cybersecurity , said that he ’ s skeptical about the hacker group ’ s claims , noting that there are always people who make unfounded threats to organizations in the hope of an easy payday—or notoriety . “ The hacker group is not following what ’ s become typical operating procedure , ” he said via email . “ For example , if this were a real ransomware attackAttack.Ransom, they would be communicating privately with the company they are targeting . Based on previous incidents , the current threat has all the hallmarks of a stunt . If they really have the ability to wipe iPhones then they would have wiped a few already as ‘ proof of life ’ ” . But that said , do consumers really want to roll the dice with their pictures and other information on the phone ? Lamar Bailey , director of security research and development for Tripwire , said via email that the hackers may have indeed been able to meticulously assemble a cohesive database of previously stolenAttack.DatabreachApple credentials by making use of various former data breachesAttack.Databreachof sources outside of Apple—this is a good highlight once again of the widespread problem of password re-use . It would have required a large effort , but he noted that it could be done . “ If this is legit , the hackers would have had to obtain accessAttack.Databreachto the individual user accounts via breaking the passwords of each of the user accounts or have acquired access to the Apple iCloud servers , ” he said . “ The access to each user account is much more realistic since we have seen numerous reports of all the weak passwords people use for their computers and accounts ” . And , he added , if the hackers have password access to individual user accounts , they can indeed erase phones remotely and change passwords for the Apple account . “ The hackers can not remove backups for Apple devices from the cloud , but changing the passwords will make it hard for the legitimate users to reset and recover their devices , ” he noted . “ Once the end-user has access to their account , they will be able to restore their device ” . Apple users—and indeed all users of any online-facing service—should make sure they ’ re using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication as an added protection . “ Having a local backup of your device is always a good idea too . It is faster to restore a device locally than over the internet , and having a small NAS ( Network Attached Storage ) device at home for pictures and backups is a good investment to supplement the cloud backups , ” Bailey added
Security experts say they are skeptical that a group of hackers called Turkish Crime Family actually possess a cache of hundreds of millions of Apple iCloud account credentials . A more plausible explanation , they say , is that crooks used credential stuffing attacks to amass a limited number of valid Apple usernames and passwords in attempt to extort moneyAttack.Ransomfrom Apple . Earlier this week , the group identifying itself as the Turkish Crime Family claimed to have a database of 750 million iCloud.com , me.com and mac.com email addresses and credentials . “ There have not been any breachesAttack.Databreachin any of Apple ’ s systems including iCloud and Apple ID , ” Apple said in a statement . “ The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtainedAttack.Databreachfrom previously compromisedAttack.Databreachthird-party services ” . Hackers behind the claim are demandingAttack.RansomApple payAttack.Ransomthem $ 75,000 in cryptocurrency or giveAttack.Ransomthem $ 100,000 in iTunes vouchers , according to reports . If demands are not met by April 7 , the group said it will begin deleting data stored on iCloud accounts en masse . An independent analysis of 54 samples of the breached account data provided to ZDNet by the hackers were valid . However , security experts such as Troy Hunt , who runs the data breach repository HaveIBeenPwned.com , still isn ’ t convinced . Hunt told Threatpost he suspects the hack is a hoax , admitting he has not seen the any samples of the breached data . “ It ’ s entirely possible whoever is behind this could have username and password pairs that work on a limited number of Apple accounts in just the same way as re-used credentials will work across all sorts of other accounts , ” Hunt said . He said the Turkish Crime Family likely has a far smaller pool of valid Apple credentials than it claims . Shuman Ghosemajumder , CTO of the firm Shape Security told Threatpost he suspects the hackers may have used credential stuffing attacks , using data from previous breaches , to gain access to an undetermined number of iCloud accounts . Shape Security estimates that last year alone 3.3 billion credentials were exposedAttack.Databreachvia breaches . Despite credential stuffing ’ s low success rate of 1 percent to 2 percent , Ghosemajumder said , when applied to a large enough cache of data ( purchased on the dark web by the database ) the hackers may have enough information to successfully crack thousands of Apple accounts . “ There are certainly enough credentials spilled onto the internet to think someone could use credential stuffing techniques to pull together a convincing number of valid accounts in attempt to extortAttack.RansomApple for ransom moneyAttack.Ransom, ” Ghosemajumder said . Patrick Wardle , director of research at Synack , echoed the same credential theory suggesting that breachesAttack.Databreachover the past year have given hackers ample opportunity to pull together some valid iCloud account credentials . Since approaching Apple earlier this month with its demands , the Turkish Crime Family has been inconsistent about how many account credentials it allegedly possesses . Speaking to various different media outlets , the group has said it had 200 million credentials to as many as 750 million . The hacking group said that its repository isn ’ t the result of one breach , rather multiple . On Thursday , the group claimed to have a database of 750 million credentials , 250 million of which are “ checked and working , ” according to the group . Meanwhile , Apple says it ’ s actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and is working with law enforcement to identify the criminals behind the Turkish Crime Family extortion schemeAttack.Ransom.
Breaches involving major players in the hospitality industry continue to pile up . Today , travel industry giant Sabre Corp. disclosed what could be a significant breachAttack.Databreachof payment and customer data tied to bookings processed through a reservations system that serves more than 32,000 hotels and other lodging establishments . In a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) today , Southlake , Texas-based Sabre said it was “ investigating an incident of unauthorized accessAttack.Databreachto payment information contained in a subset of hotel reservations processed through our Hospitality Solutions SynXis Central Reservations system. ” According to Sabre ’ s marketing literature , more than 32,000 properties use Sabre ’ s SynXis reservations system , described as an inventory management Software-as-a-Service ( SaaS ) application that “ enables hoteliers to support a multitude of rate , inventory and distribution strategies to achieve their business goals. ” Sabre said it has engaged security forensics firm Mandiant to support its investigation , and that it has notified law enforcement . “ The unauthorized access has been shut off and there is no evidence of continued unauthorized activity , ” reads a brief statement that Sabre sent to affected properties today . “ There is no reason to believe that any other Sabre systems beyond SynXis Central Reservations have been affected. ” Sabre ’ s software , data , mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations , including passenger and guest reservations , revenue management , flight , network and crew management . Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace , which processes more than $ 110 billion of estimated travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers . Sabre told customers that it didn ’ t have any additional details about the breach to share at this time , so it remains unclear what the exact cause of the breach may be or for how long it may have persisted . A card involving traveler transactions for even a small percentage of the 32,000 properties that are using Sabre ’ s impacted technology could jeopardize a significant number of customer credit cards in a short amount of time . The news comes amid revelations about a blossoming breach at Intercontinental Hotel Group ( IHG ) , the parent company that manages some 5,000 hotels worldwide , including Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express . KrebsOnSecurity first reported in December 2016 that cards used at IHG properties were being sold to fraudsters , but it took until February 2017 for IHG to announce it had found malicious software installed at front-desk systems at just a dozen of its properties . On April 18 , IHG disclosed in an update on the investigation that more than 1,200 properties were affected , and that there could well be more added in the coming days . According to Verizon ‘ s latest annual Data Breach Investigations Report ( DBIR ) , malware attacks on point-of-sale systems used at front desk and hotel restaurant systems “ are absolutely rampant ” in the hospitality sector . Accommodation was the top industry for point-of-sale intrusions in this year ’ s data , with 87 % of breaches within that pattern . “ Apparently , it is not only The Eagles that are destined for a long stay at the hotel , ” Verizon mused in its report . “ The hackers continue to be checked in indefinitely as well . Breach timelines continue to paint a rather dismal picture—with time-to-compromise being only seconds , time-to-exfiltration taking days , and times to discovery and containment staying firmly in the months camp. ” Card-stealing cyber thieves have broken into some of the largest hotel chains over the past few years . Hotel brands that have acknowledged card breachesAttack.Databreachover the last year after prompting by KrebsOnSecurity include Kimpton Hotels , Trump Hotels ( twice ) , Hilton , Mandarin Oriental , and White Lodging ( twice ) . Card breachesAttack.Databreachalso have hitAttack.Databreachhospitality chains Starwood Hotels and Hyatt . In many of those incidents , thieves planted malicious software on the point-of-sale devices at restaurants and bars inside of the hotel chains . Point-of-sale based malware has driven most of the credit card breachesAttack.Databreachover the past two years , including intrusions at Target and Home Depot , as well as breachesAttack.Databreachat a slew of point-of-sale vendors . The malicious code usually is installed via hacked remote administration tools . Once the attackers have their malware loaded onto the point-of-sale devices , they can remotely captureAttack.Databreachdata from each card swiped at that cash register . Thieves can then sell that data to crooks who specialize in encoding the stolen data onto any card with a magnetic stripe , and using the cards to purchase high-priced electronics and gift cards from big-box stores like Target and Best Buy . Readers should remember that they ’ re not liable for fraudulent charges on their credit or debit cards , but they still have to report the unauthorized transactions . There is no substitute for keeping a close eye on your card statements . Also , consider using credit cards instead of debit cards ; having your checking account emptied of cash while your bank sorts out the situation can be a hassle and lead to secondary problems ( bounced checks , for instance ) .
A California financing company exposedAttack.Databreachup to 1 million records online that contained names , addresses , fragments of Social Security numbers and data related to vehicle loans , according to a researcher 's report . The data comes from Alliance Direct Lending , which is based in Orange , California , writes Bob Diachenko , who works with the security research team at Kromtech Alliance Corp. of Germany . Alliance Direct Lending specializes in refinancing auto loans at a lower interest rate , and it also has partnerships with dealers across the country . `` It is unclear if anyone other than security researchers accessed it or how long the data was exposedAttack.Databreach, '' Diachenko writes in a blog post . Security researchers , as well as hackers , have had a field day lately exposing configuration mistakes organizations have made when setting up databases . Despite a string of well-publicized findings , the errors are still being made , or at least , not being caught . Aside from breachesAttack.Databreach, other organizations have seen their data erased and held for ransomAttack.Ransom, with notes left inside the databases asking for bitcoinsAttack.Ransom( see Database Hijackings : Who 's Next ? ) . Kromtech notified Alliance , which has since taken the data offline , Diachenko writes . Information Security Media Group 's efforts to reach Alliance officials were not immediately successful . Under California 's mandatory data breachAttack.Databreachnotification law , Alliance would be required to report the breachAttack.Databreach. `` The IT administrator claimed that it had only recently been leakedAttack.Databreachand was not was not up for long , '' Diachenko writes . `` He thanked us for the notification and the data was secured very shortly after the notification call . '' Researchers came across the data while looking into Amazon Web Services Simple Storage Service ( S3 ) `` buckets , '' which is the term for storage instances on the popular cloud hosting service . They were specifically hunting for buckets that had been left online but required no authentication . The bucket contained 1,000 items , of which 210 were public . The leaked data included .csv files listed by dealerships located around the country . The number of consumer details leaked ranges between 550,000 up to 1 million , Diachenko writes . A screenshot posted on Kromtech 's blog shows a sampling of the dealerships affected . Kromtech shared with ISMG a data sample pertaining to a dealership in Michigan . It shows full names , addresses , ZIP codes , what appear to be FICO credit scores , an annual percentage rate and the last four digits of Social Security numbers . `` The danger of this information being leakedAttack.Databreachis that cybercriminals would have enough to engage in identity theft , obtainAttack.Databreachcredit cards or even file a false tax return , '' Diachenko writes . While full Social Security numbers weren't exposedAttack.Databreach, there 's still a risk in leakingAttack.Databreachthe last four digits . When trying to verify customers ' identities , companies will sometimes ask for a fragment of data . So for fraudsters compiling dossiers , every bit , however incomplete , helps . Also exposedAttack.Databreachwere 20 phone call recordings with customers who were negotiating auto loan deals . `` These consent calls were the customers agreeing that they understood they were getting an auto loan , confirming that the information was correct and true , '' Diachenko writes . `` They included the customer 's name , date of birth , social security numbers , and phone numbers . '' The bucket was last modified on Dec. 29 , 2016 , Kromtech writes . Amazon has strong security built around S3 storage , so it would appear that whomever created the bucket might have disabled its controls . According to Amazon 's guidance , `` only the bucket and object owners originally have access to Amazon S3 resources they created . '' Amazon also has identity and access management controls that can be used to carefully restrict who can access and change data . Buckets can also be made off-limits based on HTTP referrers and IP addresses . Managing Editor , Security and Technology , ISMG Kirk is a veteran journalist who has reported from more than a dozen countries . Based in Sydney , he is Managing Editor for Security and Technology for Information Security Media Group . Prior to ISMG , he worked from London and Sydney covering computer security and privacy for International Data Group . Further back , he covered military affairs from Seoul , South Korea , and general assignment news for his hometown paper in Illinois .
Rapid7 disclosedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitya found vulnerability in Yopify , an ecommerce notification plugin utilised by a number of websites including Shopify , that indirectly leaksAttack.Databreachthe first name , last initial , city and purchase data of recent online shoppers – all without user authorisation . The various plugin sites show over 300 reviews of Yopify , which suggests that the number of exploitable sites is at least in the hundreds , and perhaps thousands . While seemingly harmless at first glance , this personal shopper data can be used by hackers to infer parts of customers ’ identities making them vulnerable to personal information breachesAttack.Databreach, blackmailAttack.Ransomand even violence .
Hackers are reportedly sellingAttack.Databreachstolen data from the Qatar National Bank ( QNB ) and UAE InvestBank on the dark web . Both the banks suffered major data breachesAttack.Databreachin 2016 and the data of thousands of customers was later leakedAttack.Databreachonline by hackers . Now , even as tensions escalate between the two Middle Eastern nations , cybercriminals appear to be cashing in on the underground cybercrime community . Hackers hitAttack.Databreachthe QNB in April 2016 and the UAE InvestBank in May 2016 . The Sharjah-based InvestBank 's stolen data was leakedAttack.Databreachonline by a hacker going by the pseudonym `` Buba '' , who demandedAttack.Ransoma $ 3m ransomAttack.Ransomfrom the bank . The stolen data , including customers ' financial details as well as personal details such as full names , addresses , passport numbers , phone numbers , account numbers , credit card numbers along with their CVV codes and more was leakedAttack.Databreachonline by the hacker after the bank refused to pay up the ransomAttack.Ransom. In the case of the QNB , a hacker group going by the pseudonym `` Bozkurt Hackers '' claimed responsibility for the data breachAttack.Databreach. Hackers leakedAttack.Databreach1.4GB data , which included customers ' financial records , credit card numbers and PIN codes as well as banking details pertaining to the Al-Thani Qatar Royal Family and Al Jazeera journalists . The stolen data from the QNB hackAttack.Databreachas well as the InvestBank data breachAttack.Databreachis now up for sale on an unspecified yet popular dark web marketplace , HackRead reported . This has not been independently verified by IBTimes UK . InvestBank 's data is allegedly being sold for a mere 0.0071 bitcoins ( $ 18.86 , £14.91 ) . The data on sale includes bank accounts , card details , customer IDs , branch codes as well as account holders ' full names . The stolen and leaked data from the QNB , which the bank later acknowledged may have been accurate , is also on sale for 0.0071 bitcoins . The data listed for sale includes the previously leaked QNB records such as bank accounts as well as card and personal details of customers . Dark web data sales from major breachesAttack.Databreachare not uncommon . In 2016 , a series of major breachesAttack.Databreachaffecting several leading tech firms including LinkedIn and Dropbox , eventually saw hackers sellingAttack.Databreachhacked and stolen databases on the dark web .
Hackers are reportedly sellingAttack.Databreachstolen data from the Qatar National Bank ( QNB ) and UAE InvestBank on the dark web . Both the banks suffered major data breachesAttack.Databreachin 2016 and the data of thousands of customers was later leakedAttack.Databreachonline by hackers . Now , even as tensions escalate between the two Middle Eastern nations , cybercriminals appear to be cashing in on the underground cybercrime community . Hackers hitAttack.Databreachthe QNB in April 2016 and the UAE InvestBank in May 2016 . The Sharjah-based InvestBank 's stolen data was leakedAttack.Databreachonline by a hacker going by the pseudonym `` Buba '' , who demandedAttack.Ransoma $ 3m ransomAttack.Ransomfrom the bank . The stolen data , including customers ' financial details as well as personal details such as full names , addresses , passport numbers , phone numbers , account numbers , credit card numbers along with their CVV codes and more was leakedAttack.Databreachonline by the hacker after the bank refused to pay up the ransomAttack.Ransom. In the case of the QNB , a hacker group going by the pseudonym `` Bozkurt Hackers '' claimed responsibility for the data breachAttack.Databreach. Hackers leakedAttack.Databreach1.4GB data , which included customers ' financial records , credit card numbers and PIN codes as well as banking details pertaining to the Al-Thani Qatar Royal Family and Al Jazeera journalists . The stolen data from the QNB hackAttack.Databreachas well as the InvestBank data breachAttack.Databreachis now up for sale on an unspecified yet popular dark web marketplace , HackRead reported . This has not been independently verified by IBTimes UK . InvestBank 's data is allegedly being sold for a mere 0.0071 bitcoins ( $ 18.86 , £14.91 ) . The data on sale includes bank accounts , card details , customer IDs , branch codes as well as account holders ' full names . The stolen and leaked data from the QNB , which the bank later acknowledged may have been accurate , is also on sale for 0.0071 bitcoins . The data listed for sale includes the previously leaked QNB records such as bank accounts as well as card and personal details of customers . Dark web data sales from major breachesAttack.Databreachare not uncommon . In 2016 , a series of major breachesAttack.Databreachaffecting several leading tech firms including LinkedIn and Dropbox , eventually saw hackers sellingAttack.Databreachhacked and stolen databases on the dark web .
Ransomware is perhaps the most ingenious cybercrime in the history of the Internet in terms of its simplicity and effectiveness . It has caused absolute terror in nearly every industry , affecting almost 50 % of organizations in 2016 , and is considered one of the top cyberthreats to the enterprise for 2017 . According to the FBI , ransomware — malware that holds systems and data for ransomAttack.Ransom— cost victims $ 209 million in the first three months of 2016 , yet totaled only $ 24 million in all of 2015 . This astronomical rise in ransomware is motivated , in large part , by a lack of preparedness . And the problem will get worse before it gets better . But in order to understand the rise of ransomware , you need to understand its economics . The Business of RansomwareTraditional data from major breachesAttack.Databreachis starting to be worth less and less as the black market gets flooded with stolen records . Just call a toll-free number and the problem is fixed in minutes . Even the cost of prized electronic healthcare records is down 50 % to 60 % from last year . But at the same time , the price per ransomAttack.Ransomhas continued to climb , and much of the data being ransomedAttack.Ransomis completely worthless on the black market . Innovations in online payments have also helped pave the way for the current ransomware epidemic . Similar to how some sites are the middlemen for sellers , Web-based `` businesses '' started to appear in early 2016 to act as proxies for data extortionists to postAttack.Databreachsensitive stolen data to add urgency to payment demandsAttack.Ransom, sell the stolen data to a third-party , or utilize it in other ways . These Web vendors use a `` Business 101 '' approach by providing an easy Bitcoin-based payment interface — currently worth $ 768 each ( at the time of writing this ) — and take a cut of every payment . Popularity Breeds PandemicBecause of ransomware 's massive success , its creators are pushing new technologies to their limits , with the potential to infiltrate every data storage device between the Internet and any given company . And with the massive success of Mirai — the Internet of Things botnet that took down a portion of the Internet last fall — connected devices are poised to become the next big target , translating into even more ransomware .