Once again the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) has claimed yet another victim, this time the Washington Post, CNN and Time websites. But, in this case the group went one step further and manipulated the links that appeared on the media groups’ own webpages.
Over recent months, the SEA has also hacked into the BBC, Al-Jazeera, The Guardian and the Financial Times’ social media platforms. Each hack brings into question the security of passwords, not just within the British press but for each individual within the UK.
Safe and secure passwords and password management is crucial to any organisation who needs to keep confidential data secure as highlighted by today’s security breach. In order to minimise the risk/impact of such attacks, it is crucial that businesses and their staff are clued up on cyber security.
Commenting on the attacks to the Washington Post, CNN and Time websites, Bill Walker, technical director and cyber security specialist, QA said:
Password security should be on the minds of each and everyone of us. It appears that this isn’t the only attack on The Washington Post’s newspaper this week. The SEA allegedly launched a sophisticated phishing attack on the Post newsroom to gain password information. The SEA was then able to gain control of one staff member’s personal twitter account to send out a SEA message.
A lock is only as strong as the individual holding the key. We can all employ the toughest firewalls and web filters but in the end it comes down to use as individuals. All businesses have a responsibility to enforce clear training around password and cyber security. They must be extra vigilant in order to protect their reputation and maintain their customers trust.
In order to keep your passwords from being hacked passwords need to be unique for each of your online accounts. Making the password long in character length and keeping the information to yourself, never divulging the password details ensures that the risks are minimal of the password falling into the wrong hands.
It sounds obvious, but individuals and organisations continually get breached from such a basic and fundamental lack of control.”