In the News
In Gearbest security lapse exposed millions of shopping orders, Zack Whittaker at TechCrunch discusses a lack of security on the popular retail website, Gearbest, which left the personal, financial, and order information of millions of users unprotected. Whittaker states that Gearbest is included in the top 250 global websites meaning that its audience and customer base is worldwide and expansive and consists of a large customer base in Asia, Europe, and its origin nation of China. Whittaker also discloses that Gearbest experienced a credential stuffing breach in 2017.
Our Take
With online retailers increasing in popularity, the reality of account data exposure rises as well. Customers have more options than ever before on where to make online purchases for similar goods. Customers flock to sites such as Gearbest because of the ‘one-stop-shopping’ possibility on the site and the lower prices of products. However, this flock of customers implies that a security or data breach has the potential for enormous devastation. It is crucial that individuals proceed with caution when not only making online purchases but also setting up accounts with online retailers. If possible, research the data and security practices of companies before creating accounts or making purchases. Especially with global companies, the reality of company enforced privacy and security initiatives is more difficult to universally applied, so additional customer precaution is essential.
Recommendations
So how can you protect your personal and financial information when making online purchases?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Minimize the number of accounts that have direct access to your bank account or card numbers
- Only shop at verified and legitimate online retailers
- Check your email, financial accounts, and credit reports regularly for abnormal activities
- Stay up to date on the news regarding recent fraud and phishing attacks to see if you may have been affected