Identity thieves bypass security questions to access Experian credit reports
When I read this article, I thought if people you don't know, already have your name, address, SSN and birthdate, perhaps you have another problem other than your credit report being accessed illegally. But then, this information is all over the place, in offices, firms and online.
There is no telling how many places your name, address, SSN and birthdate are stored on the internet. These key pieces of data are in multiple databases related to insurance, credit cards, banks, etc., etc. Many of these sites have already been breached, hacked, stolen!
After a tip from a Telegram user who frequented identity theft channels, Brian Krebs tested and confirmed that anyone who knew your name, address, social security number (SSN), and birthday could view your full credit report at Experian.
Protect yourself and please read;
Identity thieves bypass security questions to access Experian credit reports
Ransomware has now become a problem for everyone, and not just tech
Ransomware attacks have rumbled on for years and show no signs of slowing down. It's time we faced the threat head on.
In 2022, ransomware affected
- 1981 schools
- 290 hospitals
- 105 local governments
- 44 universities and colleges
Researchers suggest that much of the rise in reported ransomware attacks against local governments can be linked to a single incident in Miller County, Arkansas, where one compromised mainframe resulted in malware being spread to endpoints in 55 different counties.
The above figures are for the public sector only. The private sector isn't required to publicly disclose malware attacks so the full damage caused by malware isn't known.
Ransomware and Cyber Crime are threats to everyone. To protect against these threats, companies and individuals should apply security patches and updates as soon as available to prevent criminals from attacking known vulnerabilities and delivering their malware payload.
MFA should be imperative for all accounts in the event a username or password is stolen. Multi Factor Authentication makes it harder to abuse compromised accounts.
I see data backups not being taken seriously. There should be multiple and redundant backups with some form of storing a backup offline in case of attack.
Of the local government agencies hit with ransomware in 2022, only one organization is known to have paid a ransom, which amounted to $500,000. The largest ransom demand made by attackers against a government entity demanded $5 million -- which wasn't paid.
Education remains a key target for cyber criminal ransomware groups, the number of schools affected by attackers almost doubled in a year. In 2021, ransomware reached a combined total of 1,043 schools, while the number hit in 2022 was 1,981.
According to Emsisoft, at least three victims paid a ransom demand for a decryption key, with one known to have cost $400,000.
Hospitals have long been a target for ransomware attacks. Hospitals need their systems to be operating to treat patients but many hospital networks still rely on old, often unsupported software.
The attacks continued in 2022, with 25 incidents against hospitals and multi-hospital health systems, impacting patient care at up to 290 hospitals,
for further info, please read;
Ransomware has now become a problem for everyone, and not just tech
The ransomware problem isn't going away, and these grim figures prove it
The real cost of ransomware is even bigger than we realised
Ransomware attacks are often talked about in terms of the financial cost. But in reality, these incidents can have a much bigger impact.
