An incident has occurred at Verizon in which a hacker has gained access to a database that contains information on business employees. This information includes the entire names of workers in addition to their Identification numbers, email accounts, and phone numbers. According to Motherboard, the database is genuine since an unknown hacker approached them last week and allowed them to authenticate the data by contacting some of the numbers listed in it.
In a talk with Motherboard, the hacker said that the workers in question were fools. The hacker has said that they are in communication with Verizon and are asking for a reward of $250,000 in return for not disclosing the information.
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An Overview of The Encounter
The Motherboard was contacted by a representative from Verizon who confirmed the incident and said the following: "A fraudster previously called us threatening to expose easily accessible staff directory information in return for money from Verizon." We have reason to assume that the fraudster does not possess any sensitive information, and we do not intend to continue communicating with the person. As usual, we prioritize the safety of the data that Verizon collects, and we have robust safeguards in place to protect both our employees and our information systems.
The hacker claims that they stole the information by using social engineering to trick their route into remotely accessing the computer of a Verizon employee. In an email that was given to Vice, the hacker claimed that they had posed as internal assistance, persuaded a Verizon employee to grant remote access, and then started a script that copied information from the computer. This information was obtained by the hacker.
Future Implications of The Incident
It is possible that the stolen information may cause damage in the future. If you have ever needed to seek help from a carrier over the phone, you may have dealt with the several departments that manage to activate your SIM card. If this is the case, you may be familiar with these departments. It is possible for an alleged hacker to continue to commit SIM swapping fraud by means of social engineering if they appear as an employee and fake their phone number as one that is stored in the database. Attackers have frequently made use of this method over the past several years, manipulating accounts through mobile phone service providers such as T-Mobile and AT&T in order to steal cryptocurrency or connect to social media accounts, including the one that belonged to a former CEO of Twitter named Jack Dorsey.
Featured image: Verizon
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