Sensitive Information Theft, A Real Life Example..

October 29, 2012 — COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA -- The South Carolina Department of Revenue announced that a cyber attack exposed tax returns, credit cards and personal information for over 3 million people.

What happened?

Hackers obtained a user name and password for one employee…

They used it to connect to the department’s network, log onto as many computers as possible and install password capturing software.

Using this one user’s account, they ultimately got a different user’s login and password that gave them access to critical databases, and then proceeded to steal the information.

This cost the South Carolina Department of Revenue millions of dollars to resolve…

How did this happen?

A link in a malicious phishing email was clicked on by a single user. This act apparently caused the installation of the password stealing malware, which is how the hackers got the user’s password. And things just got worse from there.

Remember:
· Don’t click on links in emails unless you are absolutely sure of their content
· Surf the Internet very carefully!