In the News
Another data breach hits consumers hard. In Massive mortgage and loan data leak gets worse as original documents also exposed, Zach Whittaker at TechCrunch discusses an incident of data misuse and exposure that left thousands of individuals’ federal mortgage and loan information vulnerable through an Elasticsearch server. Whittaker explains that personal information, financial information, tax forms, and Social Security numbers were accessible during this data exposure due to lacking password protection measures. Whittaker states that an investigation into the origins and timeline of the incident is ongoing.
Our Take
Extensive data exposures threaten the security of individual identities and should be regarded with appropriate recognition, concern, and investigation. Data breaches occur frequently, but often only exposes small amounts of personal information such as email addresses or phone numbers. While this information should never be disclosed in the first place, it is much less damaging than the exposure of financial payment information and Social Security numbers. Social Security numbers are one of the essential items of personal information that should always remain secure and private. If these numbers fall into the wrong hands, personal identity theft is often the unfortunate result. This data breach and its subsequent exposure of PDF documents are even more dangerous and devastating because the information exposed were initially submitted on federal records. All data exposures create a decrease in company trust. However, political and governmental data misuse can have even higher stakes and more grave consequences.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal and financial information from data breaches?
- 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
- Understand the legal rights and practices of companies that store your data
- 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