There has been another data breach. Should you be concerned?
Has this happened before?
Also yes.
Although Optus are claiming that no financial information or password details have been compromised there are over 2 million users who had their personal identification documents exposed, including vehicle license details, addresses and contact details.
What occurs as a result of this breach?
- Profiling – by combining this data with other information gathered about you to create a better understanding of your online presence, social and professional networks, which may then be used in a targeted phishing attack, known as a Whaling Attack.
- Identity Theft – users may create false user accounts using your details for websites, memberships and professional services, or credit applications.
- Social Engineering – with the information gathered a malicious agent may use OSINT (mentioned here) to find a target, then cross-reference against the breach data to find a contact, then engage them via their personal number or even their home address.
You might want to take a look at haveibeenpwned.com, created by Aussie web security expert Troy Hunt. Type your email in there and you may see that your details have most likely been the subject of a breach at some time in the past, and these are just the breaches reported to haveibeenpwned. There are other breaches from smaller organisations which are not published to the masses, but this is a great tool to check every now and then. Troy reviews data being made available on the dark web and provides this website as a free service.
What can I do about it?
Dwight Schrute, Schrute Farms
Firstly, let’s lock down your credit checks. There is a very easy way to lock down any credit checks, which are used to create fraudulent accounts and cards. Take a look at SavvyShield from Credit Savvy. It’s a free service, and you get a notification when the credit score block is expiring so you can either let it lapse or renew the block for a further period of time.
Next, add 2 factor authentication to EVERYTHING that has it as an option.
Lastly, as a basic rule of thumb please minimise how much of your life you put on the web. Restrict your social media pages to “friends only”, or if you need a social media profile as part of your branding create a standalone account for public consumption, and restrict the type of personally identifiable content which you post there.
Still feel uncomfortable? Who you gonna call?
Call Junius Solutions for an obligation free chat on 1300 520 364!