Massive Security Breach. Have You Been Comprised?

[jmagid51]

From USA TODAY

Massive breach means it is time to improve password practices

OK, now it's really time to change your password. With news that as many as 1.2 billion user names and password combinations had been stolen, security experts are urging consumers to be more vigilant online. A Russian cyber gang injected malicious code into at least 420,000 web sites to gather the data. The attack "looks absolutely enormous," said Geoff Webb, senior director of security and strategy at NetIQ, a computer security company based in Houston, Texas. "It's yet another example showing that there's lot of work to be done in making the web-based applications that people use secure." Because people tend to use the same password on multiple sites, "when a medium-sized breach occurs, it can have major repercussions because those passwords are used on so many systems," said Webb. "And this is a huge breach."

Net breach an opportunity to improve password practices

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[pingmkv]

I hope Android Central does not get hit....same for Google or Outlook or iCloud.....

 

[jmagid51]

Here's an update to the story.

From USA TODAY

Time to improve password practices

OK, now it's really time to change your password. With news that as many as 1.2 billion user names and password combinations had been stolen, security experts are urging consumers to be more vigilant online. A Russian cybergang injected malicious code into at least 420,000 websites to gather the data. The attack "looks absolutely enormous," said Geoff Webb, senior director of security and strategy at NetIQ, a computer security company based in Houston. "It's yet another example showing that there's lot of work to be done in making the Web-based applications that people use secure." Because people tend to use the same password on multiple sites, "when a medium-sized breach occurs, it can have major repercussions because those passwords are used on so many systems," Webb said. "And this is a huge breach."

http://usat.ly/1nqLQjC

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[jmagid51]

Has anyone sent their information to Hold Security as suggested in the article and received a response from them?

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[jmagid51]

Received my response from Hold today and all of my email addresses (3) were not on the list if those that were stolen. Good News !!

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[monsieurms]

Passwords are obsolete. In the future, everyone is going to be moving to something more like an ATM system where to access your account you have something and know something. 4 letter pins work pretty well on ATMs. Because whether cracked or not, they're useless without the card.

Or, some are moving in directions like facial scanning, voice recognition. But these password things...that's out of control.....too many, too many difficult ones, and if they're not difficult they're easy to crack.

Now, I wonder what the Apple fans say about this massive security breach where Apple evidently didn't take sufficient, simple precautions against a brute force attack:

Apple 'actively investigating' iCloud link to celeb photo leak - CNET

But the question today is not who is insecure, but who isn't. Everyone's been hacked. That heartbleed thing may still not have fully played out--and it exposed millions of passwords, etc. They may be circulating for years.

Something's gotta give and pretty soon.