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Written by: 4/4/2011 12:01 PM
“...massive and growing…”
“...one of the biggest such breaches in U.S. history…”
“...millions of addresses in the hands of hackers and scammers…”
These are just a few of the things experts are saying about last week’s huge breach at Epsilon, a large U.S. marketing company. Boy, it sounds bad—but is it really? Possibly. It really just depends on how you look at it Information security breaches are always startling, especially when they happen to big companies with seemingly impenetrable security. When the news comes out and the articles start flying, it is hard not to think the worst. But here is the reality: breaches always end up relying on a human element to make them really successful. In this case, while the hackers did get access to email addresses and perhaps some other personal data, they won't gain much until someone falls victim to a phishing campaign or spam attacks. And so, when a breach of this type occurs, we should abandon the handwringing and panic and adopt an attitude of vigilance. Hackers have your email address? Then be extra careful not to open any unfamiliar emails or click on unexpected embedded links. It is especially important to adopt this attitude now, since experts expect the danger from this particular attack to increase in the months to come—after the news quiets down and people once again forget to be smart and circumspect. Making careful and permanent changes in the way you read your email will protect you no matter when the phishing campaign begins. Epsilon’s hackers may have won the battle, but an increase in awareness and vigilance can keep them from winning the war. Read about it here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110403/bs_nm/us_citi_capitalone_data
These are just a few of the things experts are saying about last week’s huge breach at Epsilon, a large U.S. marketing company. Boy, it sounds bad—but is it really?
Possibly. It really just depends on how you look at it
Information security breaches are always startling, especially when they happen to big companies with seemingly impenetrable security. When the news comes out and the articles start flying, it is hard not to think the worst.
But here is the reality: breaches always end up relying on a human element to make them really successful. In this case, while the hackers did get access to email addresses and perhaps some other personal data, they won't gain much until someone falls victim to a phishing campaign or spam attacks.
And so, when a breach of this type occurs, we should abandon the handwringing and panic and adopt an attitude of vigilance. Hackers have your email address? Then be extra careful not to open any unfamiliar emails or click on unexpected embedded links.
It is especially important to adopt this attitude now, since experts expect the danger from this particular attack to increase in the months to come—after the news quiets down and people once again forget to be smart and circumspect. Making careful and permanent changes in the way you read your email will protect you no matter when the phishing campaign begins.
Epsilon’s hackers may have won the battle, but an increase in awareness and vigilance can keep them from winning the war.
Read about it here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110403/bs_nm/us_citi_capitalone_data
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