Biggest Data Breach in History Poses Dangers to Brokers

Yesterday became a dark day in the history of cybersecurity at one particular company. Consumer credit reporting agency Equifax admitted to having been attacked earlier this year. The company confirms that 143 million US consumers have been affected. Data that has been stolen includes full names, social security numbers, dates of birth and in some cases ID numbers. Register now to the London Summit 2017, Europe’s largest gathering of top-tier retail brokers and institutional FX investors The hackers have also accessed data from Canadian and UK consumers. Crucially, the credit card numbers of close to 209,000 consumers have been hijacked. Shares of the company are about to tank 13 percent at market open, but we will focus on the ramifications for the industry. [gptAdvertisement]

Data That Hasn’t Been Shared Has Been Accessed

In all likelihood, if you are one of the affected users, you haven’t even shared your information with Equifax. The company is a credit assessment firm that collects information from people in over 80 countries.

Three Equifax executives sold $2 million worth of shares after breach. Absolutely corrupt & unacceptable #Equifax https://t.co/rZUto7oYy9

— Non-Token Podcast (@NontokenBlckGuy) September 8, 2017

Equifax has set up a website where potentially affected users can check the risk of their personal data being stolen during the hack. However the security features of the newly established equifaxsecurity2017.com are prompting questions. As we can see from the screenshot below, some browsers consider the website to be Phishing Phishing Phishing is a form of cyber-attack in which fake websites, emails, and text messages are used to elicit personal data. The most common targets in this assault are passwords, private cryptocurrency keys, and credit card details.Phishers disguise themselves as reputable businesses and other types of entities. In certain instances, reputable government organizations or authorities are impersonated in order to collect this data.Because phishing relies on psychological manipulation rather than techno Phishing is a form of cyber-attack in which fake websites, emails, and text messages are used to elicit personal data. The most common targets in this assault are passwords, private cryptocurrency keys, and credit card details.Phishers disguise themselves as reputable businesses and other types of entities. In certain instances, reputable government organizations or authorities are impersonated in order to collect this data.Because phishing relies on psychological manipulation rather than techno Read this Term.

Equifax’s solution to the problem only raises more eyebrows as we find that is built on a stock installation of WordPress. The website requires visitors to enter their last name and all but three numbers of a social security number to check whether they have been affected by the data breach. Equifax is being mocked and battered all over the place by unhappy consumers whose data might have been accessed without them even being required to provide any form of consent.

Don't forget to change your name, date of birth, home address and social security number regularly.

— Sarah Jamie Lewis (@SarahJamieLewis) September 7, 2017

Live look at #equifax firewall pic.twitter.com/Yy0VaC6Yof

— Akinwumi j Oyebade (@oyebee) September 7, 2017

Brokers Wary of Cybersecurity Breaches

Brokers, especially in the US, should be weary of prospective online impersonation attempts. Data that has been stolen in the US could have been sold to third parties outside of the country to facilitate money laundering and other types of fraud. Vigilant monitoring of suspicious activity is required in order to prevent identity theft attempts. A recent rise in DDOS attacks against brokers, together with ransom demands, has been reported to Finance Magnates by industry insiders. The biggest risk to companies come from yielding to such demands, as such actions inevitably encourage the perpetrators to continue. Now is the time for companies that are aiming to design security-related Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term solutions to think about their ICO, and get their white papers ready.