Ransomware is all the rage these days. Employees are fooled into downloading malware onto work computers, and hackers lock company data with powerful encryption software. Once encrypted, the data can only be accessed by using a security key. Unfortunately, they are all held by the hackers and will not be released unless a ransom is paid. Agree to pay the ransom and the data will be unencrypted. There is no guarantee that this will happen of course, but companies are often given no choice.
Ransoms are also demanded following the theft of corporate data. The criminals responsible are not looking to use the data personally. They just want a quick and easy payout. AmeriCash Advance, a well-known U.S. Pay Day loan provider, was recently attacked and had customer data stolen by a hacking group called Rex Mundi.
The group asked for a ransom to be paid, but AmeriCash refused to give in to the demand for $15,000. The company had been warned that if it didn’t pay up the stolen data would be posted online. Loan applicants and the company’s customers would then have their financial information sent out via Twitter and social media networks. This would place those individuals at a high risk of suffering fraud, having their identities stolen, or being targeted by phishers and scammers. That would likely result in customers taking their business elsewhere.
The refusal to pay means that is likely to now happen. Previous applicants for loans and AmeriCash customers must therefore be on their guard.
How much risk do victims face?
The level of risk depends on the data that have been stolen. If credit card numbers, full bank account information, Social Security numbers and account logins have been compromised, the risk of identity theft and fraud being suffered will be very high.
Any individual affected would need to put a credit freeze on their accounts, register for credit monitoring services and be extremely careful responding to emails and divulging any information. In the case of the latest attack, individuals had the last four digits of their Social Security numbers exposed, the amount of money they requested or had had loaned, and their names and email addresses. In this case only a small quantity of data was stolen and, although customers are still at risk, it could have been a whole lot worse.
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Any person in possession of the data is unlikely to be able to steal the identities of the victims without obtaining further information. The first 5 digits of the Social Security number for example along with a date of birth. Criminals who have purchased data will likely attempt to obtain the further details they need. For that they will use phishing scams. These aim to fool users into revealing sensitive information and the campaigns can be very convincing.
What can be done to reduce risk following a successful cyberattack?
According to a report on CNet, AmeriCash did what all companies should to. The company made sure that its systems were secured to prevent further attacks. The relevant authorities were contacted and law enforcement agencies were notified.
Customers also needed to be advised that their data have been compromised and warned of the risk of phishing campaigns. That process was also performed.
Offering affected individuals free credit monitoring and identity theft resolution services can help reduce fallout. Some state laws demand that this is offered if Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) is exposed.
It is also wise to increase security measures to prevent future attacks. Web filtering solutions and anti-spam protection can reduce the risk of suffering data breaches. It can also prevent employees from falling for phishing campaigns that give hacking groups the information needed to gain access to corporate networks.