British mobile phone and broadband provider TalkTalk discovered it had been hacked late last month; however further information has emerged that suggests TalkTalk hacking scams are increasing in number. Over a million customers’ data are apparently being offered for sale on the dark net, with criminals already using the data to defraud victims.

Over four million customers were believed to have been affected by the hacking scandal at first, although not all of the company’s customers are now understood to have been affected.

A criminal investigation was launched a few days after the hack was discovered. Initial reports suggested an Islamic terrorist group from Russia were behind the attack, having publically claimed responsibility. This claim appears to be false.

The Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit acted fast and just a few days after the attack was announced, a 15-year old teenage boy was arrested in Northern Ireland on suspicion of being behind the attack. A few days later, a second arrest was made, this time a 16-year old boy from West London. A 20-year old was arrested in Staffordshire in connection with the hack, and now a fourth individual has been arrested: A 16-year old boy from Norwich has been detained.

1.2 million email addresses obtained by the hackers

The official figures released by TalkTalk are much lower than the initial estimates, but the hack still ranks as one of the biggest UK hacking scandals to be reported in recent years.

A statement released by the company revealed that approximately 1.2 million email addresses had been obtained in the attack, customer names and phone numbers were also stolen, and 21,000 bank account numbers and sort codes were accessed, presumed stolen. A later press release indicated that 156,959 individuals had been affected, and the earlier figure was “bits of data,” including email addresses, names, and phone numbers.

Credit card numbers were compromised, but since they did not contain complete numbers there does not appear to be a risk of them being used inappropriately. However, that is not to say that the data will be useless. Phishers may well devise campaigns to obtain the remaining digits from unwary TalkTalk customers.

It is not clear how the attack was performed as reports have not been confirmed, but it would appear that the attack was made using a blind SQL injection which exploited a vulnerability in a video on a page of the TalkTalk website. The specific vulnerability was not disclosed, although Adobe Flash has been found to contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by SQL injection. These vulnerabilities were addressed in a recent patch issued by Adobe. SQL injection is the insertion of code that allows access to be gained to a company database. It is a very common technique used by hackers to gain access to corporate databases.

What is clear is that the security staff were distracted dealing with a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack that was conducted by one of the team of hackers. A DDoS attack bombards a company’s website with huge volumes of traffic, overwhelming it. This is made possible by using systems that have been compromised with a Trojan or have been infected by a botnet.

It would appear that while TalkTalk was dealing with the DDoS attack, the criminals were able to gain access to the company’s data by exploiting the website security vulnerability. A report in the Daily Mail indicates one of the team of hackers behind the attack made a mistake and accidentally disconnected from a service that was being used to hide his real IP address.

Some sources have reported that a ransom demand was issued in which £80,000 was demanded in Bitcoin. If the ransom was not paid the criminals behind the attack would release the data or sell it on dark net websites to criminals.  That appears to have already happened, with at least one individual appearing to have clocked up over 500 sales via dark net marketplace, AlphaBay.

Another online criminal was reportedly negotiating a deal to sell details of 500,000 accounts on the dark net, and claimed to have over a million records in his possession.

Businessinsider.com.au claims to have had been in contact with individuals who claim there were part of the attack, with figures of 1.3 million records mentioned. When asked why they carried out the attack, one person claimed it was for “sh*ts and giggles”, another for “lolz”, and “purely to like, own the ISP.” One of the persons behind the attack said it wasn’t for the money. The claim that a ransom was demanded were also denied.

While the total number of records exposed is not clear, and none of the reports from conversations with those claiming to have had a part in it have been confirmed, what is clear is that the security in place at TalkTalk was poor in some cases. One of the boys claims that one account had a password with just three digits. One quote obtained by Business Insider, from an individual operating under the name “Vamp”, claimed that the security in place was “terrible, that’s being honest with you, horrible.”

Reports in the press suggest that the vulnerability was shared, and between 20 and 25 people had access – although 5 individuals were reportedly behind the attack, including two in the UK and two in the U.S.

Beware of TalkTalk hacking scams

TalkTalk hacking scams have already been reported, with some customers having complained about being bombarded with phone calls following the security breach, as criminals attempt to use the contact information obtained to defraud victims. One victim was called after apparently having his internet connection slowed down, and was directed to a website, presumably containing malicious code.

TalkTalk hacking scams could be launched via email since 1.2 million email addresses were compromised in the attack. Phishing campaigns are often used by criminals to get users to reveal sensitive information, visit malicious websites or install malware on computers. The type of information obtained by the hackers, and subsequently sold to online criminals, could easily be used to launch highly convincing campaigns.

All of the company’s customers are advised to be exceptionally cautious, and not to reveal any personal information over the telephone, Internet or via email. TalkTalk hacking scams could be in operation for many months to come so it is vital that all customers remain vigilant and be on their guard.

Being hacked can have serious implications for a brand

A data breach such as this can have a major effect on an organization. Customers will lose trust in the brand, and it is difficult to regain trust once it has been lost. Many of the company’s 4 million customers are expected to change mobile phone/broadband provider as a result.

This is a highly competitive market and there will be no shortage of competitors looking to snap up new customers as a result of the security breach. Following the news of the hack, the company’s share price fell by 10%.

It will not be known for many weeks or months how much of an effect this, and other TalkTalk hacking scams, will have on the company’s brand image, but what is certain is it will certainly have a major financial impact. Many customers are also likely to lose out as scammers seek to take advantage.