Slashdot Mirror
Time Warner Cable Warns 320,000 Customers of Possible Compromise (csoonline.com)
itwbennett writes: Time Warner Cable said on Wednesday that up to 320,000 customers have had their accounts compromised. 'We have not yet determined how the information was obtained, but there are no indications that TWC's systems were breached,' said Eric Mangan, public relations director for Time Warner Cable. 'The emails and passwords were likely previously stolen either through malware downloaded during phishing attacks or indirectly through data breaches of other companies that stored TWC customer information, including email addresses.' If this breach is like many others, expect that number of affected customers to grow, too.
this is little more than an irritation for most slashdotters practicing password segregation, but for the average home user the consequences of this are pretty relevant. The target for the data exfiltration, time warner, services individuals who cant distinguish internet from facebook or google. The password they use for time warner is likely the same for their wireless router (provided and configured by time warner) as well as their banking institution, amazon, and countless other online services. Whats even more infuriating is how clandestine Time Warner is being about this breech. Nowhere on the front of site for their cable conglomerates web presence is a breech even hinted. when logging into bill pay, the site also conveniently omits the fact that time warner has released the personal credentials of a usergroup the size of a midwestern city.
the real kicker? because this was reported by the federal government and not through time warners own due diligence, it raises more sincere questions about just how embeddded federal intelligence and law inforcement agencies are with internet service providers.
Good people go to bed earlier.
How often should we change all our unique passwords? Once a quarter? Monthly? In real-time, like changing phaser modulation when attacking the Borg?