credit score - Online Cyber Security News

Nissan Finance Canada Suffers Data Breach — Notifies 1.13 Million Customers

Thursday, December 21, 2017 Mohit Kumar

It's the last month of this year, but possibly not the last data breach report.

Nissan warns of a possible data breach of personal information on its customers who financed their vehicles through Nissan Canada Finance and INFINITI Financial Services Canada.

Although the company says it does not know precisely how many customers were affected by the data breach, Nissan is contacting all of its roughly 1.13 million current and previous customers.

In a statement released Thursday, Nissan Canada said the company became aware of an "unauthorized access to personal information" of some customers on December 11.

"Nissan Canada Finance recently became aware it was the victim of a data breach that may have involved an unauthorized person(s) gaining access to the personal information of some customers that have financed their vehicles through Nissan Canada Finance and INFINITI Financial Services Canada," the company said.

It's believed that the unknown hacker(s) may have had access to the following information:

Customers' names
Home addresses
Vehicle makes and models
Vehicle identification numbers (VIN)
Credit scores
Loan amounts
Monthly payments

The company says there no indication, at least at this moment, that if the data breach also includes payment information and contactable information like email addresses or phone numbers.

The company offers 12 months of free credit monitoring services through TransUnion to all of its financed customers.

Since the investigation into the data breach incident is still ongoing, it is not clear if the hack also impacts customers outside of Canada and customers who did not obtain financing through NCF.

"We sincerely apologize to the customers whose personal information may have been illegally accessed and for any frustration or inconvenience that this may cause," Nissan Canada president Alain Ballu said. "We are focused on supporting our customers and ensuring the security of our systems."

Nissan Canada has contacted Canadian privacy regulators, law enforcement, and data security experts to help rapidly investigate the matter.

Equifax Hack Exposes Personal Info of 143 Million US Consumers

Thursday, September 07, 2017 Mohit Kumar

It's ironic—the company that offers credit monitoring and ID theft protection solutions has itself been compromised, exposing personal information of as many as 143 million Americans—that's almost half the country.

Equifax, one of the three largest credit reporting firm in the United States, admitted today that it had suffered a massive data breach somewhere between mid-May and July this year, which it actually discovered on July 29—that means the data of 143 million people were exposed for over 3 months.

However, it's unknown why Equifax waited 6 weeks before informing their millions of affected customers about the massive security breach.

Based on Equifax's investigation, unknown hackers exploited a security vulnerability on its website to gain unauthorized access to certain files.

Stolen data includes consumers' names, Social Security numbers, and birth dates for 143 million Americans, and in some instances, driving licence numbers and credit card numbers for about 209,000 citizens.

Also Read: How you can Protect Yourself from possibly the WORST Leak of Personal Data Ever.

The company said that some personal information for Canadian and British residents was also compromised.

Moreover, reportedly, three senior executives at Equifax, namely John Gamble (CFO), Joseph Loughran and Rodolfo Ploder, sold almost $2 million worth of their shares just days after the company learned of this massive hack.

Equifax is currently investigating the security incident and has reportedly hired FireEye's security firm Mandiant to help the company in hack aftermath.

Meanwhile, all Equifax customers are advised to visit http://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com website to check if their information has also been stolen. Users just need to enter the last 6 digits of their SSN and last name.

However, it is not that simple. The website is not giving a clear answer about whether or not your data may have been affected in the hack, but making it clear to those who were not exposed. Yes, it's confusing.

Equifax is asking affected customers to sign up for credit-monitoring and identity theft protection services—isn't this funny?

Don't worry; it's free for affected users.

The company has not yet confirmed whether the hackers have contacted it for any extortion demand, but since the breach is major, Americans quickly need to take necessary actions to protect themselves and their loved ones.

For this, you can head on to our article on How to Protect Yourself after this Security Mishap.

Stay tuned for more information, stay safe online.

How to Freeze Credit Report To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Friday, October 02, 2015 Swati Khandelwal

If your Social Security number gets hacked in any data breaches, including recently hacked T-Mobile, then there's a way to prevent hackers from misusing your identity (i.e. identity theft).

The solution here is that you can institute a security freeze at each of the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.

Once frozen, nobody will be allowed to access your credit report, which will prevent any identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name.

Because most creditors required to see your credit report before approving a new account. But, if they are restricted to see your file, they may not extend the credit or open a new account in your name.

However, there are some disadvantages of doing so.

1. Cost

The cost of a security freeze differs by state (check yours here). However, it is often free for already affected people, but the issue is – if you want to let anyone check your credit, you will need to pay a fee every time to lift the freeze.

This happens not just for your credit applications, but your credit report also gets pulled when you register for a mobile phone contract or apply for a new job or a new apartment as well.

The credit agencies will provide you a unique password to lift the freeze and charge up to $12 each time you lift the freeze. So this option can get costly.

2. Once Used, Nobody can Help

Moreover, if an identity thief has already used your stolen data to open accounts in your name, then a credit freeze will not help you out.

You can check your credit report for free three times a year at annualcreditreport.com. If you suspect any fraud, change your passwords, notify your financial institutions, keep an eye on your financial statements, and report to police.