Data breach incidents are more common than we think. According to data security specialists, most of the time hackers do not get information directly from individuals, but focus on compromising the security of companies that store multiple personal data of their customers.
This appears to be the case of the pay-TV company Sky, which has asked its customers to reset their passwords after a possible data breach were detected in the company’s systems. In addition, the company notified that the passwords of all users of Sky’s online platform would be automatically reset as part of the security measure. The measure applies to all Sky customers in the UK.
“For us, the security of your information is an extremely serious matter, so we have reset your Sky password; Please help us keep your account secure by resetting your passwords on other platforms,” mentions the email received by potentially affected users.
Through their social media profiles, the company mentioned that this measure is related to an “incident that occurred a few days ago”, data security experts believe that it is most likely a data breach.
While the company’s spokespersons have mentioned that this is a preventive measure, Sky’s email provider has leaked information about possible unauthorized access to multiple email accounts. According to data security specialists from the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS), this incident could be somehow linked to the massive 2014 data breach at Yahoo, as this is Sky’s email provider.
However, this is only an assumption, as it is not yet possible for Sky to determine the exact date on which the incident occurred. Another possible explanation is that the hackers have performed a credential stuffing attack; using stolen passwords in other incidents (most of the times, available on dark web forums), hackers try to access users’ accounts on multiple online platforms to perform malicious activities.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
