Data breaches so last millennium, what’s next on the agenda?

Data breaches have been going on since the beginning of the internet.

MANY corporations have been hiding their data breach not only from the public but also from their ‘stakeholders’ in attempts to give the false impression that the data held on their computer systems is safe, so that they would not suffer financial loss if stakeholders or customers would find out.

It is only in recent times that the breaches have been documented in the public news media, where the commoners have been made aware of this as a result of new disclosure law in place

In Australia it is mandatory for corporations to disclose a data breach as soon as they are aware of it, despite this many still do no follow the law.

Does the government fine them?

Is this another deliberately set up ‘toothless’ watchdog in order to deceive the taxpayers that something is done for their good?

The next major ‘hacking’ or rather unlawful / unauthorised entry into systems event is coming up that being into IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

The push now is for consumers to have ‘everything’ connected to the internet, obviously for their benefit and not more data collection right?

From toasters, fridges why not kettles or even USB powered coffee mug warmers, or even your shoe laces, the ‘Internet of Things’ is growing exponentially, where those devices are (deliberately?) insecure and therefore a disaster is in the making.

See video:

Could someone override your IoT connected kettle's tempereature shut off sensor and start a fire in your home?

Australia’s crime: not allowing UN inspectors in on Human Rights abuse

The colony called Australia is a crime scene.

The colonialists in office have been misbehaving since the 1800’s where the imperial government had enough of the ‘rascals and outlaws’ (in office) and installed the Colonial Laws Validity Act in 1865.

That didn’t deter the scoundrels in government where the democratic process of law making was removed in the land of the Queen, ie Queensland unconstitutionally in 1922, with the removal of the ‘upper house’ even though it was against the referendum result.

What did people do about it? Nothing.

Australia or rather the people in this machine we call the ‘Australian Government’ are human rights abusers, where they ‘just’ have to be caught out, that’s all.

So. the UN came knocking on the colony’s doors, where they were forbidden entry to certain premises where human rights abuse was taking place.

That action is a (Commonwealth)  criminal offence.

In front of the world stage, what’s going to be done about it?

Most likely nothing.

That’s life in a (penal) colony.

Apps contribute to loss of privacy

Corporations want or rather need you to use their apps that connect to their services instead of using a browser on a personal computer or even a smart phone.

Apps give developers/corporations access to you data that a browser, even on a smartphone does not.

This is a contribution to your loss of privacy.

MANY people are deliberately ignorant of the dangers using Apple or Google smart phones which are ‘deliberate by design’ data sieves.

If you value your privacy, we do not recommend using Apple products nor Google Android OEM smartphones.

Data ‘hacks’ or privacy breaches have been going on since day dot of the internet, but it is only in recent years that this information is being proliferated by the mainstream media into the awareness of the commoner, the serfs the dalits.

Speaking of which one of the world’s largest scamming nations is India, but that is a topic for another day.

If you do not participate in ‘purchasing’ (at $0 to you, where your data is the price you really pay) their business plan to support the app is no longer financially viable.

At the end of the day, is ignorance really bliss?

Medibank hack: what do we know about the data breach, and who is at risk?

It is thought someone gained access to the insurer’s systems using fake or compromised credentials to steal customer data, including medical information

Medibank has said hackers had contacted the company ‘negotiate’ over 200 gigabytes of customer data. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

A major cybersecurity incident has occurred at Medibank Private just weeks after one-third of Australians had their information held to ransom in the Optus data breach.

As one of Australia’s biggest health insurance providers, Medibank holds information that includes intimate medical records, making the breach orders of magnitude more serious than the Optus hack.

There was another data breach earlier this week of the online wine retailer Vinomofo, which led to the records of 700,000 users being sold on a Russian-language cybercriminal forum.

In the wake of the Medibank breach, the cybersecurity minister, Clare O’Neil, warned of a new world “under relentless cyber-attack”, while Australia’s security agencies scrambled to manage the fallout.

Here is what we know so far about the data breach.

What happened?

On 13 October, Medibank said it had taken offline the data and policy systems of its budget provider, ahm, and its international student division after a “cyber incident”. The next day the company announced it had restored systems and said it was “still responding” to the incident.

The situation developed on Wednesday when Medibank disclosed to the Australian stock exchange that hackers had contacted the company to “negotiate” over the future of 200 gigabytes of customer data they said had been stolen from company systems.

Although Medibank initially claimed there was “no evidence that customer data has been accessed”, the public learned the scale of the breach on Thursday as the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian federal police started to investigate.

How did the attack occur?

Medibank is understood to still be investigating but it is thought someone gained access using fake or compromised user credentials.

What do we know about what was taken?

The hacker shared a sample of 100 policies for verification. This information contained names, addresses, dates of birth, Medicare numbers, phone numbers and medical claims data – including information about diagnoses, procedures and the location of medical services.

In a statement the insurer said the hacker also claimed to hold credit card information, but this has not been confirmed. The sample is believed to come from ahm and contain information about international students who were policyholders.

How many people does it affect?

Medibank has about 4 million customers but it is not known at this stage how many were caught in the breach.

Who is at risk?

So far it has been confirmed international students have been affected, since private health insurance is a requirement when they come to study in Australia. This is concerning as many students have moved from countries where their medical information could be used against them.

Anyone who holds a policy with Medibank should be on notice. Nine newspapers reported the hackers have threatened to release the information of the 1,000 most high-profile Australians if their demands are not met.

What does the company say?

Medibank’s chief executive David Koczkar has “unreservedly” apologised for the breach.

“I apologise and understand this latest distressing update will concern our customers,” he said. “We have always said that we will prioritise responding to this matter as transparently as possible.

“Our team has been working around the clock since we first discovered the unusual activity on our systems, and we will not stop doing that now. We will learn from this incident and will share our learnings with others.”

What does the government say?

Speaking to the ABC on Thursday morning, O’Neil warned Australians of more attacks in the future.

“This is the new world that we live in,” she said. “We are going to be under relentless cyber-attack, essentially from here on in. And what it means is that we need to do a lot better as a country to make sure that we are doing everything we can within organisations to protect customer data, and also for citizens to be doing everything that they can.”

O’Neil said the Medibank and Optus breaches amounted to a “huge wake-up call” that showed the need for an overhaul of information and privacy protections.

What can you do if you’re affected?

It is difficult for an individual person to respond to a data breach of this size and scale. Criminals will typically use this information to take out fake loans or use credit card information to make purchases. To manage this risk people can contact Equifax for credit monitoring and replace credit cards.

Other risks can be managed by reviewing security settings on social media platforms, closing old and unused accounts and being careful about what is posted. This prevents criminals from gleaning contextual information.

Source:TheGuardian