Hacker Attack

C.E. Scott Brewster |
Categories

Chances are, your personal data may have been compromised multiple times—most recently through a data breach of Google records that impacts a remarkable 2.5 billion (with a ‘b’) people.  A cybercriminal group calling itself the ‘ShinyHunters’ hacked Google’s cloud-based system through the Salesforce customer relationship management program, exposing Gmail and Google Cloud user data worldwide.

The bad actors impersonated Salesforce’s IT support technicians in phone conversations, targeting English-speaking users who provided services to multinational companies.  ShinyHunters had previously hacked AT&T Wireless, Mashable, Microsoft, Santander, Ticketmaster and Wattpad.  In each case, the group sold stolen database information on the dark web, and also extorted the victim organizations by threatening to expose the information they collected unless they were paid in bitcoin within 72 hours.

The breach, of course, triggered the usual cautions from cybersecurity experts: enable two-factor authentication and use unique passwords across different accounts like email, banking or social media.  It is also recommended that users routinely update all their apps, browsers and operating systems to ensure that you have the latest and most secure versions.  And, of course, do not click on links or open e-mail attachments without being 100% certain of their origin.  Be especially wary of communications asking for personal information such as passwords, social security numbers, etc.

This article was written by an independent writer for Brewster Financial Planning LLC and is not intended as individualized legal or investment advice.