The cybersecurity incident potentially exposed customer data (but not any juicy stuff)
What’s the longest you’ve gone between getting notifications that your info’s been involved in a data breach? A couple years? Not even six months? Sometimes it feels like every time we go to check our inboxes, there’s another message about hackers penetrating some inadequately secured server and exfiltrating with our data. We’re not even two weeks removed from learning about Plex’s recent breach, exposing emails and usernames, and today we’re learning about one that has the potential to affect a whole lot more people, as Samsung announces a cybersecurity intrusion of its own.
Samsung reports that it was hacked sometime in late July, with its US systems potentially exposing user info to the intruders. That could include names and addresses, limited biographical info like birth dates, and data on registered devices. What Samsung is quick to deny is that anything outright financial was exposed, including credit card or Social Security numbers.
Perhaps as a result of the limited scope of that data, Samsung isn’t doing a heck of a lot to respond to this attack other than shoring up its systems and sending out these email notifications. Rather than offering to provide free credit monitoring for anyone whose info could have been exposed, the company instead reminds users that they’re entitled to three free credit reports a year under US law, so… thanks?
Ultimately, there’s really not anything for you to worry about in response to this incident. The personal information involved is pretty limited, and doesn’t involve passwords or anything you need to immediately change. Really, it’s just slightly embarrassing for Samsung. Somehow, though, we think the company will survive.
Thanks: Moshe
