In the News
Another large company hit with customer data exposure. In Millions of Adobe Customers Exposed in Privacy Snafu, Phil Muncaster at InfoSecurity Magazine discusses Adobe’s data exposure impacting about 7.5 million customers. Muncaster details that non-sensitive, customer information for Adobe Creative Cloud was left unprotected in an online database and that the data exposed could be used in potential attacks in the future.
Our Take
The frequency of massive data breaches is an unfortunate telling sign of the priorities of many companies regarding protecting the privacy of their customer information. Yes, malicious attackers can indeed create sophisticated methods of attack. However, many data exposures are the result of insufficient data storage and a lack of security to protect the privacy of the data customers are required to share when purchasing systems of creating accounts. Adobe was lucky that non-sensitive customer information was the only data exposed. This is a benefit for the customers. However, any form of data exposure is a violation of the trust that consumers place in a company. As such, it is crucial that companies do more to ensure the privacy of their customer’s data, but in the meantime, be sure to use safe password practices and be cautious of what information you give to a company.
Recommendations
How can you better protect your personal data?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Use safe password practices, and take advantage of Multi-factor Authentication where possible
- Utilize additional security/privacy measures and settings on apps, accounts, and platforms whenever possible
- Research and read a company’s data privacy practices before utilizing their services
- Know your rights when it comes to data storage both on a company and legal level