Last week, phishing scams continue to inundate healthcare providers, hackers compromise millions in children’s online game, and thousands of companies send employees home with compromised devices.
United States – Beaumont Health
Exploit: Phishing scam
Beaumont Health: Healthcare provider
Risk to Small Business: 1.537 = Severe
A phishing scam gave hackers access to IT infrastructure containing patients’ protected health information. The breach was identified on March 29, 2020, but data was exfiltrated between May 23, 2019, and June 2, 2019, leaving patient data exposed for nearly a year. This incident has come to light as healthcare providers face cybersecurity threats while battling the COVID-19 crisis, and Beaumont Health will undoubtedly face both regulatory troubles and financial woes on a long road to recovery.
Individual Risk: 1.509 = Severe
Hackers compromise and accessed patients’ personally identifiable information and protected health information, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and medical conditions. In some cases, hackers also accessed bank accounts and driver’s license information. Those impacted by the breach should immediately contact their financial service providers to notify them of the incident. In addition, they will need to closely monitor their accounts for suspicious or unusual activity. They should be especially critical of incoming messages, as hackers often use information from one breach to craft authentic-looking spear phishing campaigns that can compromise additional data.
Customers Impacted: 112,000
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Phishing scams are a significant risk to every company’s data. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare companies have seen a precipitous increase in these attacks, as hackers look to capitalize on the urgency and unease of the situation to trick employees into compromising critical data.
United States – Small Business Administration
Exploit: Unauthorized database access
Small Business Administration: Government agency overseeing small business affairs
Risk to Small Business: 2.177 = Severe
A cybersecurity vulnerability in the portal processing small business owners applying for an emergency loan under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program experienced a data breach. The breach, which was detected on March 25th, impacts a vital program for small businesses, and it could harm small business owners who are already grappling with an especially challenging time. Additionally, this oversight has caught the attention of news media, legislatures, and small business owners, weakening its credibility at a critical time.
Individual Risk: 2.230 = Severe
The breach exposed applicants’ names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, citizen status, and insurance information. This data can quickly circulate on the Dark Web, and bad actors will frequently reuse the information in phishing scams and other fraud attempts. The Small Business Administration is offering victims a year of free identity monitoring services, and victims should enroll in this program to receive a notification if their information is misused.
Customers Impacted: 8,000
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Now, more than ever, the consequences of a data breach are traumatic for victims. Organizations collecting and storing personal data can support their users during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking extra care to ensure that personal data remains private. It’s a priority that always matters, but that is especially amplified during the pandemic.
Canada – Webkinz
Exploit: Unauthorized database access
Webkinz: Online children’s game
Risk to Small Business: 2.727 = Moderate
Hackers compromised a database containing customer information and subsequently posted the information on the Dark Web. The breach includes more than 22 million usernames and passwords. Although the company has patched the vulnerability, this information could give bad actors access to the personally identifiable information of minors. In addition to being a veritable PR disaster for a company marketing its products to children, the breach has safety implications as well.
Individual Risk: 2.603 = Moderate
Those impacted by the breach should immediately update their Webkinz account passwords and their login credentials for any other accounts using the same information. Since this data has already been posted on the Dark Web, users should act quickly to update their credentials, and they need to monitor their accounts for suspicious or unusual activity.
Customers Impacted: 23,000,000
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: In recent years, the consumer privacy pendulum has swung towards conservative vigilance, and they are increasingly unwilling to do business with companies that can’t protect their data. This is especially true when it comes to companies marketing products to minors. Parents have to feel confident in a company’s data security practices if they are going to support their children’s involvement with your platform
Netherlands – COVID19 Alert
Exploit: Accidental data exposure
COVID19 Alert: Mobile application
Risk to Small Business: 1.315 = Extreme
Developers for the mobile app, COVID19 Alert, which was pitched to the government as a way to track COVID-19 cases, compromised user data in its source code. Before the breach, the app was on the shortlist for government adoption, which could have provided a lucrative contract for developers. Instead, the company has experienced public backlash, and it seems unlikely that they will progress further in the selection process.
Individual Risk: 2.380 = Severe
The source code, which was released for public scrutiny ahead of the selection process, contained the names, email addresses, and hashed passwords from another project by the developers. This information can quickly make its way to the Dark Web where bad actors can redeploy it in a variety of cybercrimes. Those impacted by the breach should update their account credentials and carefully monitor their accounts and communications for suspicious or unusual activity.
Customers Impacted: 200
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Developers cited their rapid development schedule and their desire to quickly make the service available as the reason for the oversight. However, companies looking to bring a new digital product to market must ensure that user data is secure. Otherwise, the project is likely to stall out before it ever even gets started.
Risk Levels:
1 – 1.5 = Extreme Risk
1.51 – 2.49 = Severe Risk
2.5 – 3 = Moderate Risk
*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.
In Other News:
Hackers Use Stolen Credentials to Attack And Compromise Hospitals with Ransomware
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals, and healthcare facilities have dealt with a deluge of cyberattacks, and ransomware has been especially pernicious. According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), hackers infiltrated many of these organizations using stolen credentials obtained from a known vulnerability in their Pulse Secure VPN servers.
This threat was first identified in October 2019, with the CISA and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation both issuing subsequent alerts in January and April of 2020. Unfortunately, even after repairing the vulnerability, the agencies have seen examples of cybercriminals using compromised credentials to access company networks.
The incident is a reminder of the importance of acting swiftly to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities but also of maintaining insights into the Dark Web, where stolen login information can quickly circulate and create chaos for your IT infrastructure.
COVID-19 is creating a more perilous digital environment for companies, making now the right time to double-down on cybersecurity initiatives that can prevent a breach.
A Note From Kobargo
50,000 Companies Send Employees Home with Infected Devices
In a rush to enable employees to work remotely, many companies unknowingly sent staffers home with compromised devices. A recent study found that as many as 50,000 companies issued already-compromised devices that were protected at the office by company firewalls and other in-house defensive measures but not outside of it.
These compromised devices are now operating on lightly-secured home or public Wi-Fi networks in an unmoderated environment, and that brings a deluge of cybersecurity risks. At ID Agent, we’ve compiled several resources to help mitigate risks like this for your remote workforce including a guide for addressing remote work vulnerabilities.
Adding an extra layer of protection for access to your data and systems is crucial. That’s why we’re excited to be able to provide you with a cutting-edge secure identity and access management solution that was designed with remote workers in mind – at an excellent value.
Passly is perfect for securing company data when workers and administrators are away from the office. Scalable and quick to deploy, Passly provides a single sign-on Launchpad tailored for each user and integrates seamlessly with the applications that your staffers use every day. Multifactor authentication means that even if passwords are compromised, an extra credential is needed to access your data and systems.
We’re here to help as your company adjusts its cybersecurity strategy to meet the new challenges of our changed world and shifting threat landscape. If we can support your efforts during this tumultuous time, please contact us today.
Contact Kobargo Technology Partners to schedule a free consultation today!
