Citigroup data breach: A lesson and warning for all — from forbes.com by Illana Green
Excerpt:
“While Citi customers aren’t likely to have fraudulent charges against their accounts as a result of this breach, they are likely to encounter social engineering attempts to enable further crime,” said Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at online security firm Sophos.
This is a realistic concern for many of the Citigroup customers because exposure of personal email addresses and account numbers can lead to efforts by hackers to engage in major fraud. Wisniewski warned customers that having your name and “other sensitive information” in hand, the attackers can easily provide convincing information that might allow them to extract even more personal information from the victims.
From DSC:
If Citigroup can be busted into…is anyone’s data safe? Really? Hackers may think this is a game, but if they are not stopped, they will increasingly reak havoc on the Internet and on society at large, and put a chilling effect on innovation, growth, progress. No one will want to put anything on the net.
Also see:
- Hacktivists versus governments: A war of attrition? — from wired.co.uk by Katie Scott
Excerpt:
The battle between hacktivists and governments around the world is hotting up, with each day bringing news of fresh arrests and retaliatory strikes.
In Spain, three hackers await their fate after being arrested in connection with the attack on Sony’s networks, and the Turkish government has also confirmed the arrest of 32 people it claims are members of the Anonymous collective.
Stateside, Anonymous has identified its next target as the US Federal Reserve, while LulzSec — the collective infamous for hacking not just Sony, but also Nintendo and Bethesda‘s networks in recent weeks — has admitted an attack on the US Senate’s website.
The American government has threatened to respond to cyber attacks from foreign countries with traditional military force, but the likes of Anonymous and LulzSec don’t fit into that category. LulzSec pointed to this in its statement after the attack: “We don’t like the US government very much. This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov — is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?”