Monster.com Hack #3

Monster.com posted on January 23rd that their database had been hacked, this being the third time the company has experienced a breach of this sort.

The breached data includes contact information such as email addresses, phone numbers and usernames/passwords, but does not include personal data such as Social Security Numbers or financial data, as that is not data collected by the company. The breach affects USAJobs.gov (official job site for the US Federal Government) as well as Monster.com.

Despite the fact that SSNs and financial data was not breached, consumers should still be concerned about their lost data. Email addresses and other personal information can be used in various identity theft scams as a means to gain higher-level personal data. If consumers use the same access username & password for banking services, which is all too common (41% user the same password for everything, via Sophos), this information can be used directly in fraud or identity theft.

Here’s an opinion video from Sophos about the Monser.com breach and why it’s important:

In August 2007 Monster.com experienced a data breach that affected 1.3 million people, who then were targeted by phishers, and in October of the same year another a hacker hijacked job listings to infect visitors with malware.

Monster.com recommends that its users change their passwords (making it mandatory on the site), with a warning to not fall prey to phishing attacks based on that premise. Monster.com will not be contacting consumers about this breach, by email or by mail.

For tips about choosing a strong password, read here or here.

Via I’ve been mugged