Bugs meant anyone could see the precise location of any other user — creepy. The company fixed the vulnerability only after the researcher who discovered it reached out to TechCrunch.
MOVEit data breach: Is your info safe?
The companies you trust your data with aren’t the only ones who handle it. Vendors, subcontractors, advertisers and other companies are often in the mix. And when one falls down on the job, everyone is screwed.
That’s precisely what happened when bad guys took advantage of a security flaw in the super-popular MOVEit file transfer system. One estimate puts the total number of victims at 513 organizations and 34,682,156 individuals. Yes, you read that number right.
Wondering if you’ve been impacted and what to do? Keep reading.
MOVEit and lose it
Thousands of organizations worldwide use Progress Software’s MOVEit to encrypt and send files. The hack has impacted over 500 organizations. So far, at least 33 data breach disclosures have affected over 34.5 million people. Yeah, you’re probably one of them.
Who’s behind it?
A Russian-speaking (and likely Russian-based) hacking organization known as Cl0p. They snuck into MOVEit through a flaw Progress Software didn’t know existed. Progress didn’t take long to patch the vulnerability, but not every client updated.
Cl0p pounced and launched ransomware attacks, taking files from companies that hadn’t yet fixed the flaw. Officials are still investigating just how deep this goes.
The hit list
Criminals got their hands on data from a ton of big-name organizations and government agencies. Think:
- 3.5 million Oregon driver’s license holders.
- 6 million Louisiana residents.
- Gen/Norton LifeLock.
- Hotel chain Radisson.
- The U.S. Department of Energy.
- BBC, Aer Lingus and British Airways.
Here’s who’s been impacted by the MOVEit ransomware attack so far:
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Update Windows now to protect against this dangerous exploit
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True or false: Macs are immune to malware and viruses
There is a common misconception that Apple’s Mac computers can’t get viruses or malware. The belief is that only Windows-based systems suffer from malicious code and nasty bugs.
There is no consensus on where the claim originated. But it might have been Apple itself. Until 2012, Apple’s marketing for its Mac computers included the line that “a Mac isn’t susceptible to the thousands of viruses plaguing Windows-based computers.”