Another hacking is in the news. This time, it’s British credit company TalkTalk that has fallen victim to what can only be considered a long and everlasting war between digital companies and those who would seek to destroy them.
Chief executive Dido Harding explained to BBC News:
“It is hard for me to give you very much detail, but yes, we have been contacted by, I don’t know whether it is an individual or a group, purporting to be the hacker.”
What makes this particular instance so dangerous is the fact that private customer information could have been involved, and that’s always something to send shivers down a user’s spine. This information could include anything from customer names, dates of birth and addresses to bigger data such as banking details and even credit card information. At this time, the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit is conducting an avid investigation.
What is known is that things started out in the form of a denial-of-services attack, which caused the company’s servers to slow to the point of being practically inaccessible. Since the attack began, it has been confirmed that TalkTalk’s executives have been hit with a ransom demand from the hacker or hackers, although how much money is being asked for has not yet been disclosed.
Harding continued her statement by adding:
“With the benefit of hindsight, were we doing enough? Well, you’ve got to say that we weren’t and obviously we will be looking back and reviewing that extremely seriously… Whether it is the US government, Apple, [or] a host of companies, cybercrime is something we all need to get better at defending ourselves against.”
It’s also likely that TalkTalk will need to defend itself against the Information Commissioner’s Office, which instills penalties as high as £500,000 in the events of massive data breaches.