A company that provides analysis for international affairs and security threats, Stratfor, has allegedly been targeted by hacktivist group Anonymous. The group which is known throughout the world for their ability to hack secure websites announced on Twitter on Sunday and Monday that they had stolen thousands of credit card numbers and personal data from Stratfor’s clients.
Statfor’s website remains down for the time being as the company struggles to get an idea of the damage and safeguard against any other possible security breaches in the future. In the mean time, it appears that clients of the company who speak out in support of Stratfor are being targeted although it is unclear how or if these allegations are true.
Anonymous claims that the data they stole was unencrypted which, if true would be a complete and total embarrassment for the company that provides security and threat analysis for its clients.
Stratfor is using its facebook page to communicate with their clients while the website is down. The latest post gives clients an idea of how to protect themselves during this time.
Following is the latest post in its entirety:
“On December 24th an unauthorized party disclosed personally identifiable information and related credit card data of some of our members. We have reason to believe that your personal and credit card data could have been included in the information that was illegally obtained and disclosed.
Also publicly released was a list of our members which the unauthorized party claimed to be Stratfor's "private clients." Contrary to this assertion the disclosure was merely a list of some of the members that have purchased our publications and does not comprise a list of individuals or entities that have a relationship with Stratfor beyond their purchase of our subscription-based publications.
We have also retained the services of a leading identity theft protection and monitoring service on behalf of the Stratfor members that have been impacted by these events. Details regarding the services to be provided will be forwarded in a subsequent email that is to be delivered to the impacted members no later than Wednesday, December 28th.
In the interim, precautions that can be taken by you to minimize and prevent the misuse of information which may have been disclosed include the following:
- contact your financial institution and inform them of this incident;
- if you see any unauthorized activity on your accounts promptly notify your financial institution;
- submit a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") by calling 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877- 438-4338) or online at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ ; and
- contact the three U.S. credit reporting agencies: Equifax http://www.equifax.com/ or (800) 685-1111), Experian http://www.experian.com/ or (888) 397-3742), and TransUnion http://www.transunion.com/ or (800) 888-4213), to obtain a free credit report from each.
Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your initial credit reports, the FTC recommends that you check your credit reports periodically. Checking your credit reports can help you spot problems and address them quickly.
To ease any concerns you may have about your personal information going forward, we have also retained an experienced outside consultant that specializes in such security matters to bolster our existing efforts on these issues as we work to better serve you. We are on top of the situation and will continue to be vigilant in our implementation of the latest, and most comprehensive, data security measures.
We are also working to restore access to our website and continuing to work closely with law enforcement regarding these matters. We will continue to update you regarding the status of these matters.
Again, my sincerest apologies for this unfortunate incident.
Sincerely,
George Friedman”
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