Computer World is running an article with a headline that seems all to common these days. Wells Fargo codes used to access personal information describes yet another security breach where hackers gained unauthorized information to consumer data including Social Security Numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver licence numbers, etc. Wells Fargo estimates that as many as 7000 people were affected by this breach.

The data thieves obtained the access codes that Wells Fargo uses for MicroBilt, a credit reporting service. They used these codes to sign into MicroBilt and gain unauthorized access to the personal data stored there. Wells Fargo admits they have no idea how these codes were leaked, but has begun an investigation into the matter.

With a new breach like this one almost every month, it’s amazing there are people out there who still haven’t suffered from identity theft (mys elf included, knock on wood). There needs to be a radical change in the security mindset of all companies, big and small.

Sadly though, a study performed by McAfee last month seems to suggest that this won’t happen anytime soon. In a survey of many Small-Medium Businesses (SMBs) McAfee found that most SMBs have dismal security practices. The highlights from a Computer World article examining the study:

• “20% of the surveyed companies said they had no security protections at all in place against online threats”
• “nearly 45% of the respondents didn’t see their businesses as being valuable targets for cybercriminals”
• 35% admitted to not being concerned about cybercrime
• “Cybercriminals prefer smaller organizations because they are more easily attacked”

However, there has been at least one good news story on the security front in recent weeks. Dutch authorities have captured the owners of the Shadow botnet, a remote controlled computer network of over 100,000 machines used for sending out spam, attacking websites, and other criminal activities. Furthermore, they’re using the botnet software to alert users whether or no their computer has been infected. Ars technica is hailing this as a new model for fighting cyber crime, something we definitely need.

Related posts:

1. 3 Lessons from the Rain Forest Hack Physical systems being infiltrated and controlled by hackers may soon...