Not a month or even a few weeks go by without news of some sort of hacking attack or data breach. But the latest may be one of the most serious in the history of the internet.
According to researchers, a Russian crime syndicate has managed to collect 1.2 billion username and password combinations, with more than 500 million email addresses. The New York Times says Hold Security, an American firm, found the records which include private material from 420,000 websites.
Alex Holden, the founder of Hold Security, told the publication this wasn’t just an attack on US companies, “they targeted any website they could get, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to very small websites”.
While last year’s attack on Target was dramatic enough – it eventually saw the resignation of the company’s CEO – the potential for more than one billion login details to fall into the wrong hands is sobering indeed.
Yet again, the ongoing nature of these types of hacks has lead security experts to call for more sophisticated security methods – beyond the outdated methods of a username and password combination. Combining with features such as biometrics and other forms of identification are necessary for survival in an age when last data can destroy a life.
In 2012, journalist Mat Honan suffered such a fate when a hacker was able to get access to his personal information, and used it to leverage access to Honan’s other accounts. The hacker shut down and wiped information from Honan’s computer, Google account and phone.
This is a nightmare scenario, but it’s growing increasingly more common as we rely on outdated metrics. Even the iPhone is using a fingerprint scanner, and is expanding that technology to payments and other areas. It’s a recognition that a password+username combination is simply outdated.
The bottom line is that the internet still hasn’t recognised the importance of security protocols that go beyond the basic. The sad truth is that some won’t realise until it’s too late – but those individuals and businesses used to moving quickly will shore up their security extremely quickly.
What’s needed is an approach to security that goes beyond a basic protocol. Ask yourself – are you confident your security could withstand the type of hacking attack described in the New York Times? If not, you have work to do.
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