Capital One Hacker Caught Red Handed
Digital documents are fairly small, but a criminal had terabytes handy
Terabytes of data were stolen by Paige Thompson in Seattle from the convenience of her home. A server loaded with thousands of gigabytes was recently found to be in her possession. More than 30 companies were breached by her, over what is assumed to be a long period of time. Information obtained by her included highly sensitive personal details such as home addresses, income information, names, bank accounts and many other financial tidbits.
The prosecutors posted an official memorandum stating, “Although not all of those intrusions involved the theft of personal identifying information, it appears likely that a number of the intrusions did.” Thompson is charged with committing one of the largest cyber intrusions and data thefts in history, prosecutors said. This new leak comes in just when people like you and I are already suffering from other massive data leaks, such as Facebook and Equifax. It is good that the criminal in this case has been caught, but the aforementioned mega-corporations were barely fined by the Federal Trade Commission.
One hundred million Capital One credit card applications were stolen. This exposed 140,000 Social Security Numbers and 80,000 bank accounts to potential fraud, perhaps even more accounts will be revealed, as the investigation continues onward. So far, there is no evidence that the data was distributed or sold to third-parties, but given the nature of the homebrew server, there shouldn’t be much surprise if Ms. Thompson’s home network was compromised by another criminal.
Reports say that she was a software engineer, others say that she is a convicted felon with illegal firearms found in her home. Either way, she should not have had so much personal information. Considering the fact that digital documents are very small in size, the fact that she had enough to fill up several hard drives tells me that many more people will discover that their confidential information was compromised. Such information can be used to commit identity fraud, racking up thousands of dollars and countless days of legal hassle for victims.
Dealing with identity theft is a horrible thing. Most criminals get their information digitally, so removing your personal information from Google, Facebook, and other websites is highly recommended. Wiperts deals with personal information removal, the exact same personal information that identity fraudsters and criminals use to commit crimes using your good name.
Personal information is generally static and non-changing, so even if you deal with one fraudster, another fraudster can steal your information and start stealing your money all over again. Many financial experts recommend freezing your credit for that very reason. In late September 2018 credit report freezes became free for Americans. Freezing your credit and using Wiperts to remove your personal information from the internet will provide you two layers of protection.
Capital One said that the breach cost the company $100 million to $150 million dollars. This could be due to various reasons, such as hiring security experts, stock devaluation, and legal responsibilities related to the court case being brought against Ms. Thompson. Such an expensive data breach is bound to have long-term repercussions to everyone involved. More and more people are being notified of the breach. If you receive a notification, then you should contact Wiperts today to see what your options are.
