Sony Pictures Hack is growing: 47,000 Social Security Numbers Leaked -
Things are not getting better for Sony Pictures following an unprecedented attack that began November 24 and continues to grow, as more stolen data is publicly released. According to the Wall Street Journal, a huge 47,000 Social Security numbers were exposed in the attack, including a number of celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Rebel Wilson. Many of these social security numbers were included with the tax records of employees, obtained in the data wipe. Rapper Nicki Minaj recently learned what can happen when your Social Security Number is exposed - when hers was accidentally posted publicly, the high number of inquiries on his credit caused its credit rating drop more than 100 points. An identity thief in possession of your Social Security number can wreak havoc on your life. Even those at the top of Sony are not safe - the details of the CEO Michael Lynton's credit card were made available in published documents. This information is currently available through the Internet, through the torrent sites and other black market spaces.
Sony employees are not the only ones affected
In addition to thousands of business and personal files belonging to Sony employees, a document containing information on salaries of more than 30,000 employees Deloitte audit firm has been stolen. According to sources, the Deloitte data was on the computer of a former employee of HR who now works for Sony. Due to the size of the data theft, it is quite possible that Deloitte will not be the last company to be roped in Sony Pictures disorder has now cleaned.
FBI issues warning about malware attack
The FBI issued a "flash alert" Monday for large companies, according to Business Insider, warning of an attack group nameless uses dangerous malware for wiping hard disk system computer all data. This malware, which is believed to have been used in the attack Sony, is very destructive and designed to make computer networks completely unable to function. This is the first major attack on an American kind of society. While most people do not care what happens to a production company from Hollywood, this violation is certainly worrying. Responsible entities have not yet been identified. This dangerous malware could be used to attack other companies - such as banks -. With much more devastating consequences for the general public
Security Lax makes companies vulnerable
It is interesting to note that the general lack of security in Sony also likely contributed to the success of this attack. For example, today thousands of company passwords for all the internal user accounts to social media accounts have been disclosed. Those who have done research on the attack noted that the file containing the passwords were clearly labeled. This is a bad idea to keep a list of passwords in clear text on your computer. If you create a spreadsheet or other type of file to store passwords, make sure it is password protected or otherwise encrypted. And do not name a file something as easy to spot as "passwords"
As such violation takes place, it is a reminder to all that data security is essential if you are an individual or part of a business. to learn more about security software available for personal computers and mobile devices, see our Internet security software reviews.
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