Rajshekhar Pullabhatla’s Post

Fake - Fake - Fake. I will pay 3,13337 INR to anyone who can bring any credible information about the hacker xenZen identity. Two weeks ago, the press reported, based on evidence shared by a hacker named xenZen, that the Star Health CISO leaked data to a hacker. The argument that the CISO sent the database using his official email ID itself is absurd. But the press is now running on that story. And the hacker xenZen is pushing this story to all media houses - look at the screeshot. Two weeks ago, we posted our analysis blog and confirmed two things: 1) The Star Health data leak was legitimate. 2) However, we found that the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) did not leak the data. Rather, the hacker framed the CISO by fabricating evidence. Security breaches like the one mentioned above are terrible, but making a CISO the scapegoat is even worse. If a malicious hacker can hack a database and frame the security team, then I don’t think we are heading in the right direction. At the time of writing (2 weeks ago), Star Health was not a CloudSEK customer. Since then, Star Health has reached out, and we have been helping them, but they are still not our customer. And we will help them free of cost until we bring justice to this matter. We have already taken down the hacker's leak site, but he has created other mirror sites. I will keep you posted on this matter. My post - https://lnkd.in/gYH9YBNp Our blog - https://lnkd.in/giX_bckq"

AT&T says hackers stole 2022 call and text data from 'nearly all' cell customers 📶 AT&T says hackers stole 2022 data of “nearly all” of its cellular customers from the company's workspace on a third-party cloud platform. What information was compromised? In April, AT&T’s investigation found that files containing the records of phone calls and text messages of “nearly all AT&T cellular customers” were accessed between May and October 2022, as well as a smaller number of customers on Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T says the data does not include the substance or time stamps of those calls and texts, nor birthdays, social security numbers or other “personally identifiable information.” What to do if you've been affected: The company says it will notify impacted users by text, email or U.S. mail, and has also set up a webpage where current and former customers can check to see if their information was involved. Those affected can follow an online process to obtain the phone numbers of their calls and texts in the downloaded data. AT&T says the option to request that information will be in place through the end of this year. ✍️ Rachel Treisman | NPR 📸 Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images

Serving Nearly 3 Billion Up On A Platter! What's worse than finding out one of your data providers or services has exposed your personal data? Finding out a service that scrapes the web for this information, unbeknownst to many, has done so, and that's just what Jerico Pictures Inc., operating as National Public Data, has done. Exposing the personal information of nearly 3 billion individuals, cybercriminal group USDoD posted the database on a dark web forum on 2024-April-8, putting it up for sale for $3.5 million. This breach rivals the 2013 Yahoo! breach and if confirmed would make it one of the largest ever in terms of affected individuals. Key Details: • Date of Breach: The data was posted on April 8, 2024, by the cybercriminal group USDoD. • Data for Sale: The database containing 2.9 billion records was listed for $3.5 million. • Type of Data Exposed: Included Social Security numbers, addresses spanning decades, full names, and information about relatives, including some deceased for nearly 20 years. • Data Collection Method: National Public Data scrapes personally identifying information from non-public sources without individuals’ knowledge or consent. • Verification: Researchers from VX-underground confirmed the data’s authenticity, noting the archive’s size of 277.1GB uncompressed and the exclusion of individuals who used data opt-out services. An individual, Christopher Hofmann, received a notification from his identity-theft protection service on July 24 warning him that his data was part of the breach. He's followed up by filling a class action lawsuit, accusing National Public Data of negligence, unjust enrichment, and breaches of fiduciary duty. He's looking to force National Public Data to purge the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of everyone affected, encrypt all future data, and implement stringent security measures including regular cybersecurity assessments for the next decade. This incident underscores the escalating risks of online data security, revealing yet another dimension of danger as information scraped surreptitiously from the web becomes a target for cybercriminals. As online security threats grow more sophisticated, it’s crucial for companies to implement robust cybersecurity frameworks and for individuals to stay vigilant about their personal data online. For those using data opt-out services, they were not affected, but this begs the question of whether these actions are "legal" in collecting PII for background checks and storing that information without express consent. Do we all need to have identity theft protection services now, too?! More detail in this article: https://lnkd.in/eDKQPzD9 #DataBreach #CyberSecurity #OnlinePrivacy #InformationSecurity #DarkWeb #IdentityTheft #DataProtection #CyberThreats #TechForGood #SecurityAwareness #NationalPublicData #PrivacyProtection #OnlineSafety #CyberRisk #ITSecurity

I have not written much lately because, frankly, it is hard to come up with something unique to say when there is a disastrous breach announced every day. And these are not the small businesses down the street. AT&T, Microsoft, United Healthcare....the list goes on and on. I have also been reviewing some Zero Trust Strategy documents and it occurred to me that truly, nothing can be trusted. To be blunt, cybersecurity is not working. Think about the implications of the AT&T breach. If those that stole these records make them available as a pay for search service on the dark web, a small sample of the following is now possible: - A list of calls from clients to lawyers - A list of calls from suspected criminals, without a warrant - A list of calls from law enforcement to informants, undercover agents, etc. - A list of calls from employees to competitors - A list of calls from cheating spouses You can spend days coming up with scenarios. We need to fundamentally change how we do data and cybersecurity today. We have to assume that all systems, devices and applications are vulnerable and can be breached with little effort...and this will not change. The only solution is devalue the data so that even if it is stolen, the scenarios like I listed about are not possible. This is not just focused on AT&T, but all data. The same goes with medical records, financial data, intellectual property. The devaluing and controlling of data independent of network, devices and applications is possible and available. But this requires a completely different thought process to how we do cybersecurity. It is time for a new approach. https://lnkd.in/ed-3ZhmT

Four years in a row! In the United States the costs for that average data breach dropped by 1.3% in 2024. Considering that we are also the world leader with total breach related costs averaging $9.36 million, that is not such a good number. More than half of the organizations affected are passing the costs along to their customers. The top five industries affected are: 💉   Healthcare 💲   Financial  🏭  Industrial  🖥   Technology  🔌   Energy What is most alarming is that on average it takes 292 days to identify and contain breaches involving stolen credentials. Imagine how frequently it takes more than a year to find a resolution. How is your organization position to mitigate the risk of a crippling data breach? #cybersecurity #cyberinsurance #riskmitigation #EBITDA #pricingstrategy

DataBreach.com Emerges As Alternative To HaveIBeenPwned: An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCMag: Have I Been Pwned has long been one of the most useful ways to learn if your personal information was exposed in a hack. But a new site offers its own powerful tool to help you check if your data has been leaked to cybercriminals. DataBreach.com is the work of a New Jersey company called Atlas Privacy, which helps consumers remove their personal information from data brokers and people search websites. On Wednesday, the company told us it had launched DataBreach.com as an alternative to Have I Been Pwned, which is mainly searchable via the user's email address. DataBreach.com is designed to do that and more. In addition to your email address, the site features an advanced search function to see whether your full name, physical address, phone number, Social Security number, IP address, or username are in Atlas Privacy's extensive library of recorded breaches. More categories will also be added over time. Atlas Privacy has been offering its paid services to customers, such as police officers and celebrities, to protect bad actors from learning their addresses or phone numbers. In doing so, the company has also amassed over 17.5 billion records from the numerous stolen databases circulating on the internet, including in cybercriminal forums. As a public service, Atlas is now using its growing repository of stolen records to create a breach notification site, free of charge. DataBreach.com builds off Atlas's effort in August to host a site notifying users whether their Social Security number and other personal information were leaked in the National Public Data hack. Importantly, Atlas designed DataBreach.com to prevent it from storing or collecting any sensitive user information typed into the site. Instead, the site will fetch a hash from Atlas' servers, or a fingerprint of the user's personal information -- whether it be an email address, name, or SSN -- and compare it to whatever the user is searching for. "The comparison will be done locally," meaning it'll occur on the user's PC or phone, rather than Atlas's internet server, de Saint Meloir said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

: 🚨 Why Your "Different" Passwords Might Not Be As Safe As You Think 🚨 This morning, I ran a test that blew my mind... We’ve all heard the advice: “Use a different password for every site.” That's because occasionally, sites get hacked and your info ends up in breach databases, which hackers use to try your username and password on other sites (techies know this as credential stuffing). So, it’s still good advice, but let’s face it—who can remember dozens of complex, unique passwords? For a long time, I’ve recommended coming up with simple, easy-to-remember mechanisms to generate unique passwords per site. For example: Amazon: "RedBalloon!Amz1999" Gmail: "RedBalloon!Gml1999" Chase: "RedBalloon!Chs1999" This approach gives you unique passwords for each site that are easy to remember. BUT this morning, I thought, "I wonder how many passwords in breach databases use mechanisms that can be predicted by AI?" So, I tried it out, and AI was able to predict a LOT! Including "RedBalloon!Wll1999" for a Wells Fargo password, even though it wasn’t in the breach database. So... this is going to be a huge issue. Passwords that were never in a breach database and were different for every site could still be predicted by the bad guys' AI systems and used in a new form of credential stuffing attack. So what do I recommend? Use a password manager that generates complex passwords (though mine was hacked, forcing me to change every password I ever had, which was a royal pain). Add multi-factor authentication (MFA) using an app authenticator. Why MFA is essential: Protects against compromised passwords: Even if someone guesses or steals your password, they won’t be able to access your account without the second factor. Adds security across all accounts: Using MFA on your important accounts (like email, banking, and social media) significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access. Stay safe online! 💻🔐

🔒🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨🔒 Investigators were in for a shock! The data broker at the heart of a potential major breach now claims only 1.3 million people have been affected. Hold onto your firewalls, folks! This one's a rollercoaster ride! 🎢💥 💡 What does this mean for the tech world? Let's break it down: 🔍 **Data Breaches Got Us Like**: With cyber threats looming large, every breach is a wake-up call. Does this revelation change how we approach data security in the digital age? 💻🔐 🔮 **Crystal Ball Prediction**: Will this incident set the tone for future breaches? Let's learn from history to build a stronger defense line. 🛡️📊 ⚙️ **Tech Toolbox Talk**: How will cybersecurity solutions evolve to combat these growing threats effectively? Innovation is the key to staying one step ahead. 🔧🚀 📈 **Catch the Trend**: Data breaches are on the rise. It's more critical than ever for IT professionals to upskill and adapt to the changing landscape. 📈📱 🗣️ **Join the Conversation**: Let's hear your thoughts! How can the industry tackle data breaches head-on? Share your insights below! 💬🤓 #ainews #automatorsolutions #CyberSecurity #DataBreach #TechTrends #StaySafeOnline Let's turn this setback into a step forward for cybersecurity! Stay alert, stay safe, and together, we can secure the digital realm! 💪🔒🌐 #CyberSecurityAINews ----- Original Publish Date: 2024-08-19 06:24

The number of Washington residents affected by #databreaches reached an all-time high, according to an annual report issued this week by the state Attorney General’s Office. The number of individual data breaches affecting 500 or more Washingtonians reached 279 between July 24, 2023 and July 23, 2024, resulting in 11.6 million data breach notices being sent to the state’s residents. This is the first time that the number of notices exceeded the state’s population of almost eight million, according to an attorney general’s office news release. The 2024 numbers increased from the 178 breaches reported in 2023, which required 4.5 million notices sent to Washingtonians. The previous all-time breach record was in 2021, when 286 data breaches were reported, with 6.5 million notices. Cyberattacks caused 78% of the breaches in the 2024 report, compared to 67% in 2022 and 64% in 2022, according to the report. A handful were caused by mistakes or inadvertent thefts. The rest were unauthorized people accessing paper copies or obtaining data without hacking. Ransomware attacks accounted for 113 of the 217 breaches, the report said. https://lnkd.in/eVWAraF3 #worlddatasummit #datainnovation #dataanalytics #dataprotection #AI #datascience #dataprivacy #datasecurity #data #dataethics #dataquality

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲? In today's digital world, securing user passwords is non-negotiable. One of the most effective ways to enhance security is by adding a unique "salt" to each password before it's hashed and stored in a database. Here's why this practice is so crucial: 🔒 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 Rainbow tables are like cheat sheets for hackers, allowing them to reverse-engineer passwords from their hash values. Salting ensures that even if two people use the same password, the resulting hashes are completely different, making these tables useless. 🔄 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Without a salt, identical passwords would produce identical hashes. Salting guarantees that even if multiple users choose the same password, their hashed values will be unique, keeping attackers guessing. 💻 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 Salting makes brute-force and dictionary attacks more challenging. Attackers have to work significantly harder, hashing each password guess with the unique salt before they can even begin to crack it. 🔐 𝗘𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 Even if the same password is used on different systems, salting ensures that each system generates a unique hash. This prevents attackers from cross-referencing hashes across platforms. Salting is a simple yet powerful step in safeguarding passwords. It’s one of those practices that significantly raises the bar for attackers, helping us keep user data safe in an increasingly complex digital landscape.