The latest victims of the rising tide of cyberattacks are startup Revolut, telecoms giant Optus, and transport company Uber.
Every week, it seems as if there are reports of another significant breach that compromises customer and company data. Sometimes the attack just happened, while other times, it happened months ago only to be noticed or reported after the fact. But when these attacks happen, they always deliver the same message — cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common.
Revolut confirmed that it was hit by a cyberattack that was discovered on September 11th, which it isolated the following morning. According to the company, the hackers gained access to the personal details of tens of thousands of customers, or around 0.16% of the company’s overall customers.
The company said it contacted those affected, but it did not give an exact number of customers compromised or reveal what types of data were accessed. However, according to what Revolut disclosed to Lithuanian authorities, around 50,000 customers were impacted.
Additionally, the company revealed that no funds were accessed or stolen. Still, hackers likely accessed partial payment data, as well as names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. The company also disclosed that social engineering methods gave the hackers access, meaning it involved duping an employee to reveal sensitive information, which has been seen many times as of late.
Not everyone is so sure that is the extent of the breach, though. There have been reports of foul language showing up in the support chat during the time of the attack, making some believe more was accessed than Revolut has admitted. But then again, it can be difficult to tell everything that has been compromised during cyberattacks, which is part of what makes them so unsettling.
Optus is another company feeling the pain of the increase in cyberattacks. The Australian telecoms giant revealed that an attack led to current and former customer data being compromised. According to a press release, the data exposed includes names, birth dates, phone numbers, and email addresses. Moreover, some customers had their addresses and ID document numbers, such as driver’s license or passport numbers, accessed.
Optus has received some criticism for issuing a press release before immediately texting or emailing its customers. Others are upset over how poorly the company has communicated about the breach after the fact. Some are even threatening a class action, which might grow worse with some 10,000 records leaked after the cyberattack.
Even Uber is not immune to the increase in cyberattacks, finding its entire system breached by a hacker reported to be a teenager. While an arrest has been made, the damage has already been done. To make matters worse, some believe that the breach is a direct result of skimping on security, which seems to be incentivized by current economic forces.
While refocusing on proper security measures may be all it takes to reduce the risk to customers, there is no doubt that cyberattacks will continue to come. And chances are, they will only grow more common as technology becomes more advanced and ingrained in our lives. More companies will be affected by cyberattacks, joining Revolut, Optus, and Uber.
