http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/31/honda_data_breach/ By John Leyden The Register 31st December 2010 Honda US has written to customers following a data breach that led to the exposure of million of customer records. Hackers made off with a database containing names, email addresses, and Vehicle Identification Numbers (the unique ID for cars) of 2.2 million Honda customers following an attack on an unnamed third-party marketing outfit. The breach creates a mechanism for miscreants to distribute convincing phishing emails, perhaps posing as "special offers", and designed to hoodwink victims into disclosing more sensitive private information. Honda has contacted affected customers to warn them of the risk, as well as publishing an FAQ on the breach. Criminal hackers also swiped a list containing email address records of 2.7 million drivers of Honda's luxury Acura car. Vehicle information was not attached to that list, a factor that means it only poses a lesser risk, mainly from the possibility of increased spamming against exposed email accounts. Net security firm Sophos notes that the incident illustrates how the security reputation of household brands can be damaged by security faux-pas from its partners. "It may not be your company who is directly hacked, but it can still be your customers' data that ends up exposed, and your brand name that is tarnished," Sophos notes. [...] ___________________________________________________________ Tegatai Managed Colocation: Four Provider Blended Tier-1 Bandwidth, Fortinet Universal Threat Management, Natural Disaster Avoidance, Always-On Power Delivery Network, Cisco Switches, SAS 70 Type II Datacenter. Find peace of mind, Defend your Critical Infrastructure. http://www.tegataiphoenix.com/Received on Mon Jan 03 2011 - 01:51:54 PST
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