Recently, the second largest cable provider in the US, Time Warner, announced that there was a security breach. Up to 320,000 people have had their email addresses and passwords compromised in an online attack. However, the cable giant is denying any fault in regards to the incident. They state that they were told by the FBI about the breach, but they were unsure of how the data was stolen.
Instead of taking responsibility, Time Warner is saying that there are other possibilities that caused the breach, according to the Courrier-Journal. The possible causes are previously stolen emails and passwords because of downloaded malware, phishing attacks, or through indirect attacks on 3rd party companies that housed Time Warner’s information. Though the compromised accounts only make up a small portion of their customers, if you are a customer of theirs, it would be wise to change your password.
Here are some quick rules for changing passwords. It is recommended that you give each account you have it’s own individual password. In other words, if you are using the same password for multiple sites, once the hacker gains access to one, they have them all. We realize that may be difficult for some to remember, but you can write down the password and keep it close by, or you can use a password management program. Ten or more characters is now the generally acceptable length for a good password in today’s society. There are several ways you may come up with a secure password.
The manual method involves thinking of a phrase or a nursery rhyme, taking the first letters, and replacing some of them with numbers, symbols, and capital letters. That is a good method, and may help you remember your new password. Another alternative is to use password generators online. Most of them are free standing, and you may also set the length of the password as well. Of course, these are just a few methods that may be used.
It is unusual for a company the size of Time Warner not to accept responsibility for this type of data breach. If they don’t know how the attack occurred, how do they know they are not to blame? No matter who is at fault, this denial sounds like a child breaking a lamp and denying it was them. In this case, it may be your security that gets broken. Make sure to update your password and change any other accounts that used the same password as Time Warner.