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Industry News: ESG5

    Know Your Breach: Animker

    The Target: Animker, an all-in-one video marketing online platform company.

    The Take: Exposure of 700,000 records of Personally Identifiable Information including: full names, device types, postal codes, IP addresses, mobile phone numbers, email addresses, profile details, and physical addresses.

    The Vector: A misconfigured database was left open and unsecured, and notably, on its default settings, meaning anyone with an internet connection could have viewed and downloaded the data using the server maker’s basic setup guide.

    This shows how important authentication controls are, and even more critically, that they be purposefully and smartly deployed with security in mind. Multi-factor authentication and password length and complexity rules on server access are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: NHS

    The Target: The NHS, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. 

    The Take: Exposure of 14,000 employee records containing Personally Identifiable Information including: names, physical addresses, Date-of-Birth, NI numbers, gender, ethnicity, and salary.

     The Vector: The unencrypted and unprotected file was accidentally sent to hundreds of in-firm managers, but also to twenty-four external email accounts. The file in question was a spreadsheet which had hidden tab containing the information.

    This breach is a stark reminder of how critical data processes and protocols are when handling sensitive information. Furthermore, the information stolen in this attack could lead to highly targeted phishing campaigns against the victims. Regular training social engineering training, specifically around the human need to get tasks done quickly with a focus on “stop and think” methodology is a key component in cybersecurity.

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    Know Your Breach: Slick

    The Target: Slick, an Indian based social media platform.

    The Take: Exposure of 153,000 records of Personally Identifiable Information including: full names, mobile numbers, dates of birth, and profile pictures, and some belong to minors.  

    The Vector: A misconfigured data server was left open and unsecured, meaning anyone with an internet connection and knowledge of the IP address could have viewed and downloaded the data. The domain name for the database was also at risk by being under an easy to guess subdomain of Slick’s main website.

    Authentication controls are an important piece in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. Companies should be fully aware of how their data is secured and stored. Furthermore, this sensitive user data is perfect for constructing highly effecting spear-phishing campaigns. Regular monitoring of data storage process can help mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: 8Twelve Financial Technologies

    The Target: 8Twelve Financial Technologies, a Canadian-based mortgage solution company.

    The Take: Exposure of 717, 814 records of Personally Identifiable Information including: names, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, and more critically, detailed “lead” sales data on what kind of mortgage customers were hoping to secure.

    The Vector: A misconfigured data server was left open and unsecured, meaning anyone with an internet connection could have viewed and downloaded the data.

    This breach is critical reminder that authentication controls are an important piece in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. This data is perfect for constructing highly effecting spear-phishing campaigns. Multi-factor authentication and password length and complexity rules on server access are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: Trustanduse.com

    The Target: Trustanduse.com, a digital platform for consumers to rate products, services, stores, and professionals.

    The Take: Exposure of 439,000 records of Personally Identifiable Information including: usernames, first and last names, Facebook IDs, phone numbers, and hashed account passwords.

    The Vector: A misconfigured data server was left open and unsecured, meaning anyone with an internet connection could have viewed and downloaded the data.

    This breach is critical reminder that authentication controls are an important piece in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. This data is perfect for constructing highly effecting spear-phishing campaigns. Multi-factor authentication and password length and complexity rules on server access are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: Zendesk

    The Target: Zendesk, a customer solutions service provider.

    The Take: Access to an internal logging database which may have contained service data belonging to Zendesk and its customers.

    The Vector: An employee’s credentials were compromised though an SMS phishing attack which led to the employees handing over their login credentials to the attackers.

    This breach is a stark reminder of how important authentication controls are in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. Regular social engineering and phishing awareness training are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s customer base.

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    Know Your Breach: Myrocket

    The Target: Myrocket, a Human Resources recruitment company based in India.

    The Take: Exposure of 200,000 employees and 9 million candidate records of Personally Identifiable Information including: names, taxpayer information, personal identification numbers, emails, phone numbers, bank details, dates of birth, salaries, payslips, employees roles, and more.

    The Vector: A misconfigured data server was left open and unsecured, meaning anyone with an internet connection could have viewed and downloaded the data.

    This breach is critical reminder that authentication controls are an important piece in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. This data is perfect for constructing highly effecting spear-phishing campaigns. Multi-factor authentication and password length and complexity rules on server access are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: CAF

    The Target: CAF, the French Social Security agency

    The Take: 10,000 records of Personally Identifiable Information exposed including: physical address, date of birth, household composition and income, amounts and benefits received.

    The Vector: An unencrypted and unprotected file containing the above information was sent to a third-party service provider, who then posted the file to their website which was publicly accessible to anyone.

    This breach is a reminder of how critical authentication controls are on sensitive data to maintain an overall robust cybersecurity posture, and more critically, ensuring these controls are in place when communicating and sending data to third-party vendors. The information stolen in this attack could lead to highly targeted phishing campaigns against the victims. Regular vendor assessments are also a key component in cybersecurity.

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    Cornerstone Payment Systems

    The Target: Cornerstone Payment Systems

    The Take: Exposure of 9 million transaction records which exposed Personally Identifiable Information including: email addresses, names, physical addresses, phone numbers, types of credit cards and donation details including destination and dollar amount. 

    The Vector: A misconfigured data server was left open and unsecured, meaning anyone with an internet connection could have viewed and downloaded the data.

    This breach is critical reminder that authentication controls are an important piece in an overall robust cybersecurity posture. This data is perfect for constructing highly effecting spear-phishing campaigns. Multi-factor authentication and password length and complexity rules on server access are effective strategies to mitigate these kinds of breaches to protect a firm’s data.

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    Know Your Breach: Uber

    The Target: Uber, a U.S based ride-service company.

    The Take: Exposure of sensitive company information including: IT Asset reports, Windows domain login names and email addresses, and Active Directory information. 

    The Vector:  The data was stolen through a breach in a third-party provider, Teqtivity, using compromised employee credentials. These were used to gain access to an AWS backup server.

    This breach is a stark reminder of how authentication controls are in an overall robust cybersecurity posture, and more critically, ensuring these controls are in place on all third-party vendors which have access to a firm’s data. The information stolen in this attack could lead to highly targeted phishing campaigns against Uber. Regular vendor assessments are a key component in cybersecurity.

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