TalkTalk has been hacked once again, the third occasion in recent times. Here is everything you need to know about the latest mega-breach to befall the telco.
1. TalkTalk became aware of the breach on Wednesday 21st October
The firm made the breach public late on Thursday 22nd October, admitting that it had happened the day before. A problem was identified when its website slowed down. TalkTalk said it had be working with the relevant authorities to investigate the breach.
2. Valuable personal data has been stolen
Credit card and bank details have been caught up this, as well as customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and TalkTalk account information.
3. A ransom has been received from people claiming responsibility
A TalkTalk spokesperson said: "We can confirm we were contacted by an organisation claiming to be responsible, and seeking payment." This is currently being dealt with by the police, so it is not known whether or not it is legitimate.
4. 4 million customers’ records are at risk
TalkTalk has written to every customer, as all of them could have had their data stolen by this breach.
5. Banks have been informed
Major banks are aware of the breach. They are monitoring the accounts of TalkTalk customers for suspicious activity, and regulators are being kept informed too.
6. Customers will get a year’s free credit monitoring from the firm
As financial data is involved in this breach, TalkTalk have said they are arranging credit monitoring for customers.
7. Not all the data was encrypted
TalkTalk have said that not all the data was encrypted, but that "We constantly review and update our systems to make sure they are as secure as possible."
8. A DDos attack was probably used to gain access
Security experts think that a DDoS attack was used to overwhelm the website, and then gain access to the data.
