It seems that it is not only UK internet service providers who are the victims of hacking. US cable provider Comcast has become the latest victim of a successful attack on a customer list.
Reports have emerged that the e-mail addresses and passwords of up to 200,000 Comcast customers have been listed for sale on a Dark Web site for up to $1,000.
Yet the cable giant insisted that unlike at TalkTalk, it had not been hacked and that the most likely reasons for such data appearing on the site were customers either activating malware or falling victim to other social engineering attacks. In a statement it insisted that there was "no evidence to suggest any personal customer information was obtained in this incident."
That said, security experts warned Comcast users to change passwords and beef up security settings. Commenting on the issue, Patrick Peterson, CEO at email security firm Agari said: "Comcast is now another name on a long list of recent malware victims. Everything can be linked to email. Do you need to change your banking information? You have to enter your email address first. Now, cyber-criminals have access to these details for the low price of 33¢ per address. Cyber-criminals are not going to let down. They are so successful doing what they are doing that there is no need to be innovative. They will continue to steal personal information until people put their foot down and say they aren’t going to take it anymore.”