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A security breach has put many social security numbers at risk. Bloomberg reports that background check company Jerico Pictures Inc., doing business as National Public Data, revealed sensitive information for nearly 3 billion people in April 2024. Hacking group USDoD reportedly stole and released that data on the dark web under “National Public Data.” This was brought forward in a class-action lawsuit filed in April 2024 in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, FL, which also mentioned the information had been up for grabs for $3.5 million, according to Bloomberg. Per the complaint, this data includes sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, complete names, family information, and addresses that date back several decades . According to U.S. Public Information Research Group Consumer Watchdog Director Teresa Murray, the compromise could now leave many at risk of crimes such as identity theft and fraud, The Los Angeles Times reports. “If this, in fact, is pretty...
Though Amazon reportedly experienced another record-setting holiday season , it also suffered its share of challenges. Among the holiday favorites for many Amazon shoppers was Wyze, the economical, smart home camera system launched by former Amazon staff. Though the top-selling item provided a major boost for Amazon’s holiday revenue, a new data breach may change that record success. A Wyze security breach confirmed in late December is said to have affected more than 2 million customers , according to Fortune. Though the full extent of the breach has yet to be revealed, it involved account information, such as email addresses, Wi-Fi information, and security tokens. According to Wyze, no financial data or passwords were compromised . The latest breach places Amazon at the epicenter of another security glitch. Wyze likely became a viable alternative for wary shoppers shying away from Amazon’s controversial Ring home camera system. Amazon and Ring were recently named in a class-action...
The security of 29,000 Facebook workers was compromised in November when computer equipment was stolen from an employee’s car. The thief walked away with Facebook 2018 payroll data that included employee names, bank account information, salary, and bonus details, and partial Social Security numbers. “This theft impacts current and former Facebook employees only, and no Facebook user data was involved,” a Facebook spokesperson reported to Business Insider. The data was included on two unencrypted hard drives, which, according to Facebook policy , should never have been removed from the office. Employees were notified of the incident Friday. As is customary with breach incidents, affected workers were offered free subscriptions to identity theft monitoring services. The theft, once again, places a spotlight on Facebook’s security measures, as the social media giant has often been highlighted for data security issues. However, unlike Facebook’s most recent breaches, this incident did...
When it comes to data breaches, most people would like to be warned shortly after. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Boost Mobile — a virtual mobile network owned by Sprint — recently announced that it had experienced a security breach almost two months ago. In an announcement, Boost said the breach originally occurred on March 14th. The company went on to add: “Boost.com experienced unauthorized online account activity in which an unauthorized person accessed your account through your Boost phone number and Boost.com PIN code. The Boost Mobile fraud team discovered the incident and was able to implement a permanent solution to prevent similar unauthorized account activity.” Boost didn’t specify how many accounts were impacted by the breach itself. However, as reported by TechCrunch , the company also notified the California Attorney General . That’s required by law when more than 500 in the state are impacted by a security breach. By using phone numbers and account PINs,...
On Monday Google announced that it’s shutting down Google+ 4 months earlier than expected. The underperforming social network was already expected to be shuttered in August 2019, but new revelations of a data breach compromising the personal information of 52 million users has sped up the process. Google will end the consumer version of Google+ four months early in April 2019 in addition to shutting down all Google+ APIs in the next 90 days. An investigation revealed personal information including name, email address, occupation, and age were exposed through apps that requested permission to view user profiles, even with a profile set to private. Personal user data including name, email address, encrypted password, and public questions, answers, and comments were exposed in the breach. Anonymous content was not affected. “We understand that our ability to build reliable products that protect your data drives user trust,” wrote the VP of product management for G Suite David Thacker...
Question-and-answer site Quora announced Monday that a data breach may have compromised the personal information of about 100 million users. The company discovered “ a malicious third party” had gained access to their systems exposing private account information on Friday. Quora has notified law enforcement officials of the breach and is investigating the exact cause, said CEO Adam D’Angelo in a company blog post. “In addition to the work being conducted by our internal security teams, we have retained a leading digital forensics and security firm to assist us,” he said. Personal user data including name, email address, encrypted password, and public questions, answers, and comments were exposed in the breach. Anonymous content was not affected. While the investigation is ongoing and Quora believes it has identified the root cause, they have begun notifying users whose data was compromised. They are also logging users out of affected accounts and invalidating passwords. Those who...
On Friday, Marriott revealed that its Starwood reservation system was breached, leaving more than 500 million guests’ information vulnerable to hackers. The hospitality giant said guests’ personal information including payment information, name, address, phone number and date of birth have potentially been exposed. “We deeply regret this incident happened,” Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said in a press release. “We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward.” Marriott learned of the cyber attack in September and discovered the breach impacted the Starwood reservation system earlier this month. Further investigation determined there was unauthorized access to the system since 2014. Marriott is allowing guests to enroll in WebWatcher–a monitoring software– free of charge for one year. Guests from the United States who activate WebWatcher will also be...
Nearly 200 million Yahoo users in the U.S. and Israel are expected to receive checks from the company now that a two-year legal battle has ended. Yahoo has agreed to a $50 million settlement after a 2016 data breach impacted its email accounts. The company has been providing AllClear credit monitoring services for all impacted users over the span of two years. When the cyber-attacks initially happened in 2013, Yahoo originally disclosed that 1 billion of its users were impacted by the breach. The company later announced 3 billion of their email users were affected. Oath, which now owns Yahoo, will pay half of the settlement along with holding company Altaba. Yahoo’s settlement shines a light on the potential future of data breach settlements. In July, Target reached an $18.5 million settlement for its 2013 hacks. Now, eyes are on Facebook for its most recent hacks and Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Facebook revealed today that hackers stole user data from nearly 30 million accounts, making it the largest security breach in the company’s history. This comes after Facebook initially reported the breach affected 50 million users. Attackers accessed information such as birthdays, employers, devices used to access Facebook, current city, religion, education, and relationship status from 14 million users. For 15 million users, profile details like name and contact information—phone number, email or both—were taken. Facebook said hackers leveraged a vulnerability in its code and implemented an automated technique to easily maneuver between about 400,000 accounts to steal access tokens — the digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook. “The attackers used a portion of these 400,000 people’s lists of friends to steal access tokens for about 30 million people,” explained Guy Rosen, VP of Product Management in the company’s statement . This attack did not affect other Facebook...
Facebook could face a $1.63 billion fine if it is found to have violated the General Data Protection Regulation following the company’s latest data breach that impacted more than 50 million users. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission told the Wall Street Journal that it is concerned that Facebook is unable to clarify the nature of the breach and how it is impacting users. “Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed,” Facebook said in a blog post . “We also don’t know who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based.” Hackers utilized a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacts its “View As” feature. Under GDPR, companies who do not work to protect user data must pay a maximum fine of €20 million or 4 percent of its worldwide annual revenue for the previous year, depending on which amount totals more. For the past year, Facebook has used multiple methods to regain the trust of its...
Mark Zuckerberg has broken his silence on the Cambridge Analytica controversy, reports The Los Angeles Times . In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg acknowledged his company’s failure to protect its users’ information, while trying to convince his customers they can still trust the social media giant. “I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I’m responsible for what happens on our platform,” he said. “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you.” The Facebook CEO also announced changes that would prevent third parties from accessing Facebook’s information. Facebook promises to somehow audit apps with access to “large amounts of information.” The controversy popped off last weekend when The New York Times and Britain-based The Observer reported that Trump-affiliated Cambridge Analytica collected data from over 50 million Facebook accounts to manipulate voters’ opinions. Things got worse when the U.K.’s...
Tennessee State University (TSU) has finalized an agreement with state leaders that will reallocate $96 million in state funds to stabilize the institution’s operations and restore financial confidence, according to the Tennessee State University Newsroom. The move is considered a critical step toward ensuring TSU’s sustainability after years of systemic underfunding and financial instability. The funds were initially designated for deferred maintenance as part of a $250 million capital improvement allocation in 2022. However, the funds will now be used over the next three years to support university operations. University officials described the arrangement as a transformational opportunity that will relieve cash flow concerns and fund improvements to student services, staffing, and long-term infrastructure, the HBCU reported. “This agreement provides TSU with the opportunity to solve its financial challenges and regain its legacy as one of our nation’s great, historic institutions...