Canada’s Rogers Communications Suffers Data Breach – Rogers Communications Customer Data Exposed in Online Data Breach
Customer data from Canadian ISP Rogers Communications was found exposed in an unsecured online database. Rogers posted information about the incident in their support section of their website. An unnamed vendor stored customer information online in a publicly accessible database. Customer addresses, account numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers were all exposed. Rogers Communications discovered the data breach on 26 February 2020. The information has already been removed.
It is believed that no credit card, banking, or password information was exposed. However, customers who have data exposed in a cyber security incident like this run a greater chance of identity theft. Affected customers are being notified by email or postal mail. Rogers Communications is offering free identity theft monitoring from TransUnion.
How Thieves Can Steal Your Identity
Thieves can steal your identity by hacking into databases, gaining access to email accounts, scraping personal data from social media or from corporate websites, or using a variety of other attack vectors. Often phishing email attacks begin with data taken from social engineering. Hackers cobble together bits of personal information to build a profile on a target. Although many people think they don’t have enough money to be a desirable target, a hacker is capable of building databases of information on thousands or millions of people. When phishing emails are sent in large volume, stealing just a few dollars from millions of people is very profitable.
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Protect your personal information like is cash.
People frequently use the same password across multiple online accounts. If a hacker can gain access to a low-level account, like your cable television account, the hacker can often use that email address or password to hack into something more valuable – like your credit card of bank account.
Read our guide on on the most common hacked passwords
What is Rogers Communications?
Rogers Communications is based in Toronto Canada and is one of Canada’s largest ISPs (internet service provider.). The company also sells phones, streaming services, home security monitoring, and phone services.
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Data Breaches – How to Protect Yourself
It is important to monitor your other online accounts including social media and emails.
- Change your password – Although account passwords were not part of this data breach, email addresses were. That means hackers have half the information they need to break into any account using the same email address. Many people use the same passwords across multiple accounts which puts all accounts sharing the same password in jeopardy.
- Monitor your bank and payment card statements for fraudulent charges. Notify your bank if there are any erroneous charges.
- Email addresses were exposed. Be especially vigilant for phishing emails and spam from people you don’t know
- Phone numbers were exposed in this data breach too. Be vigilant for SMS phishing emails and scam text messages
- Always use a secure WiFi connection. Even logging into email and social media can give a hacker the information they need to break into your bank account and steal money.
- Never use public WiFi to make purchases or to log on to financial accounts
Previous Rogers Communications Data Breaches
Rogers Communications was hacked in 2015 after a hacking group that goes by the name TeamHans. In that incident hackers successfully phished a Rogers employee. TeamHans accessed one email account, an enterprise sales employee, who managed medium sized business accounts. The hackers dumped 465MB of data online after Rogers Communications refused to pay ransom to get the data back.
