Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
After Massive Data Breach, Equifax Directed Customers To Fake Site
Source: NPR
After Massive Data Breach, Equifax Directed Customers To Fake Site
September 21, 20175:13 PM ET
MERRIT KENNEDY
After a cyberattack that potentially exposed the personal information of 143 million people, the credit reporting agency Equifax set up a website to help people determine if they had been affected, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.
However, on multiple occasions over the span of weeks, the company's official Twitter account responded to customer inquiries by apparently directing them to a fake phishing site called www.securityequifax2017.com.
Luckily, the fake site — blocked or flagged by many Internet browsers, then taken down Wednesday afternoon — was set up by software engineer Nick Sweeting to educate people, rather than steal their information. A banner on the top read "Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information Which Is Totally Fake, Why Did Equifax Use A Domain That's So Easily Impersonated By Phishing Sites?"
Still, it's an embarrassing development for the company that is struggling to regain public trust, especially considering that customers may have been directed to the fake site at precisely the moment that they were seeking reassurance about the safety of their data.
-snip-
September 21, 20175:13 PM ET
MERRIT KENNEDY
After a cyberattack that potentially exposed the personal information of 143 million people, the credit reporting agency Equifax set up a website to help people determine if they had been affected, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.
However, on multiple occasions over the span of weeks, the company's official Twitter account responded to customer inquiries by apparently directing them to a fake phishing site called www.securityequifax2017.com.
Luckily, the fake site — blocked or flagged by many Internet browsers, then taken down Wednesday afternoon — was set up by software engineer Nick Sweeting to educate people, rather than steal their information. A banner on the top read "Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information Which Is Totally Fake, Why Did Equifax Use A Domain That's So Easily Impersonated By Phishing Sites?"
Still, it's an embarrassing development for the company that is struggling to regain public trust, especially considering that customers may have been directed to the fake site at precisely the moment that they were seeking reassurance about the safety of their data.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/21/552681357/after-massive-data-breach-equifax-directed-customers-to-fake-site
