I don’t know about you but frankly, I’m furious!
We have been posting about companies that, through their own neglect and carelessness, have allowed personal data to be breached. I expect companies like Target and Equifax to have the highest standards in network security. We know that the Equifax breach was due to their failure to patch their systems in a timely manner, which is equivalent to not putting oil in your car. Sure, you can push it past 3,000 miles, but your motor might blow up.
So… what are the consequences for these businesses that lose our information due to neglect or are just using the cheapest security solutions? Well, let’s see what we find…
Reuters reported on February 6 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a key agency responsible for overseeing financial companies, is neglecting its investigation into the Equifax hack that compromised the personal information of millions. The CFPB allegedly has failed to issue any subpoenas or request any testimony — and has backed off cooperation with other agencies like the Federal Reserve. (Source: Reuters)
HELLO! Hackers stole the personal data of over 240 million Americans with little to no repercussions!
How can this be? Equifax is not just a business, they are a Credit Bureau that collects all our financial data regardless of our consent, and then uses it for profit. And how are they handling our personal data? If you ask me, like a car that they neglected to change the oil in time.
For those of you that do care about corporate responsibility, and those of you who are paying monthly fees to companies like Lifelock to monitor your credit reports, you still have options.
Number 1. Take control of your Privacy settings. Make sure every time you sign up for a new app or an organization’s website, you check the Privacy Setting and make sure you are not giving them permission to sell your personal information.
Number 2. Start checking the class actions suit against these companies. Unfortunately, the deadline to get in on the Equifax breach class actions has passed, but if you follow this link you can see what other class action suits may be relative to you.
Two current examples of Class Action Suits you can still get in on are the Anthem (Data Breach) but the claim deadline is this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, and the Twitter Security Breach claim deadline Friday, August 31, 2018.
Number 3. Follow our news feed on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook to stay up to date, re-post these stories so they get more traction, call your elected officials, and join these class action suits. So far, business trends indicate that big businesses are not going to protect your personal data, so follow these tips and stay informed.
I will say that working for I.T. Solutions of South Florida at least gives me hope that some businesses, like our clients, do value network security and are following Best Technology Practices. If small to medium size companies can find funding in their budgets to make sure that their data and their client’s personal information is secure, then these multibillion-dollar businesses should be able to secure their networks as well.
Just in case you haven’t been following our Facebook or the news….
Below is the short list of the largest breaches so far this year.
Trust me, you should take 5 minutes to look through this list, it includes companies like Vtech Technologies, an electronic toymaker, whose security breach exposed the personal data of over 6.4 million children!
Vtech -January 8, 2018
Jason’s Deli -January 11, 2018
Aetna – January 17, 2018
CarePlus – February 2, 2018
Partner’s Healthcare -February 5, 2018
FedEx – February 15, 2018
BJC Healthcare -March 12, 2018
St. Peter’s Surgery & Endoscopy Center – March 13, 2018
Facebook – March 17, 2018
Orbiz -March 20, 2018
ATI Physical Therapy – March 22, 2018
Massive Hack Sponsored by Iran on 144 Universities – March 23, 2018
Under Armour -March 29, 2018
Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylors -April 1, 2018
Panera Bread -April 2, 2018
Inogen – April 16, 2018
UnityPoint Health -April 20, 2018
SunTrust Bank -April 20, 2018
City of Goodyear – May 9, 2018
Chili’s – May 12, 2018
Rail Europe -May 14, 2018
Nuance Communications – May 17, 2018
University of Buffalo – May 21, 2018
LifeBridge Health – May 22, 2018
Aultman Health Foundation -May 29, 2018
Pumpup -May 31, 2018
Ticketfly – June 3, 2018
My Heritage – June 5, 2018
Dignity Health – June 7, 2018
Sacramento Bee – June 7, 2018
Coinrail -June 11, 2018
Chicago Public Schools -June 17, 2018
Bithumb – June 20, 2018
Med Associates – June 21, 2018
Taskrabbit -June 25, 2018
Cick2Gov -Midwest City – June 25, 2018
Exactis -June 27, 2018
Adidas -June 30, 2018
Timehop -July 4, 2018
