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Beware the hacked data broker

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Dissent

Christopher Mims reports:

Many security and privacy researchers expect a cyber-breach event that will make the hack of infidelity site Ashley Madison look like a footnote by comparison. It could affect not just people seeking extramarital affairs, but everyone in America.

Even more daunting, it could be under way already, and we don’t even know it, say computer security experts.

It’s difficult to pick the worst-case scenario for this breach, as each could be devastating in a different way. It might involve the revealing of everything from shopping habits to the complete Web browsing histories of many Americans. It could put national security in jeopardy by giving hackers the ability to create spear-phishing attacks — in which people are tricked into compromising their computers via emails from businesses that look legitimate — containing so much personal detail that even the most paranoid of government employees or contractors could be fooled.

Read more on The Australian. There’s really nothing new in his report that regular readers of this site won’t have already thought about, but maybe it will wake up some members of the public.

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