Tag Archives: cyber attack

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T-Mobile Data Breach affects over 47 Million people

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Data stolen include names, dob, SSN, and much more!

The investigation of the ongoing T-Mobile data breach has revealed some staggering information regarding the number of customers affected. As per a new article from Engadget, T-Mobile has confirmed roughly 47.8 million current and former customers have been affected by the cyberattack.

The company issued a press statement regarding the data breach and below are some of the immediate steps they are taking:

  • As a result of this finding, we are taking immediate steps to help protect all of the individuals who may be at risk from this cyberattack. Communications will be issued shortly to customers outlining that T-Mobile is:
    • Immediately offering 2 years of free identity protection services with McAfee’s ID Theft Protection Service.
    • Recommending all T-Mobile postpaid customers proactively change their PIN by going online into their T-Mobile account or calling our Customer Care team by dialing 611 on your phone. This precaution is despite the fact that we have no knowledge that any postpaid account PINs were compromised.
    • Offering an extra step to protect your mobile account with our Account Takeover Protection capabilities for postpaid customers, which makes it harder for customer accounts to be fraudulently ported out and stolen.
    • Publishing a unique web page later on Wednesday for one stop information and solutions to help customers take steps to further protect themselves.

As a T-Mobile customer myself, this is quite worrisome. The data stolen includes personal information like names (first and last), date of birth, social security numbers and driver license numbers. It is unclear at the moment if the stolen files have information that would contain financial account numbers or passwords.

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ENGADGET

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Breaking News, LA Local, Lifestyle, Travel

5$ Gas in LA after Cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline

Already high prices hit new records, although east coast was meant to see impact first

Above: photo credit: Lynxotic

The main pipeline carrying gasoline and diesel fuel to the U.S. East Coast was shut down by its operator after being hit with a cyberattack. The attack has been attributed to DarkSide, a group of veteran cybercriminals. Colonial Pipeline Co. operates the Colonial Pipeline system that takes fuel from the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the New York metro area.

The pipeline stretches 5,500-miles, and the company learned Friday that it was the victim of the attack and “took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations”, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Although, according to sources, the cyberattack targeted only business related computers and none involved in the system itself, there have been reports that the supply chain would likely be affected and that prices could rise.

Prices are rising, but the West is way out ahead

Indeed, Gasoline futures saw an increase 2% to $2.168 per gallon, and heating oil futures also rose 1.2% to $2.03.

Above: photo by Lynxotic

Wst Texas Intermediate crude futures, which is the U.S. oil benchmark, also jumped 56 cents to $65.46 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $68.95 per barrel, for a gain of 65 cents.

Leave it to California, home to the highest consumer gas prices in the nation to move fast to the upside, base on anticipated higher costs, or just to take advantage of the news? Hard to say.

Just recently, in early March, California had the highest price in the nation overall at $3.68 on average.

The station in the photos, in Escondido, California, which is near San Diego, represents a single station and not an average for the State.

However, with premium plus at this station which is branded “V-power” is actually being sold for $5.19 which, if it were an average is likely the highest ever in the US, to date, by a very wide margin.

Jen Psaki, White House spokesperson for the Biden Administration made this statement with regard to the incident:

“As the Administration works to mitigate potential disruptions to supply as a result of the Colonial Pipeline incident, @USDOT is taking action today to allow flexibility for truckers in 17 states”

The effect, if lasting, could put a damper on holiday road trips

Many in the media have been predicting a blockbuster kick-off to the summer travel season with pent up demand, particularly for road trips, set to explode after a long year of lock-downs and Tavel bans. In the west, and particularly California, if gas prices at the pump rise above $5 that prediction could be in doubt.

Of course, if demand drops enough that could mitigate the ability of the industry to continue squeezing the maximum out of every drop. Let’s hope that the price, regardless of how, will drop below $4 in time for road trips and mobility as the weather continues to improve.

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