Data breach

Data breach, data breach, a little bit more data breach, will this ever end? Will tech catch up to prevent this happening? Perhaps blockchain could provide an answer? Maybe, maybe not.
The internet has been around for a reasonable amount of time now. It has developed into something few don’t know something about. Quite a few of us have been using it since it started, these kinds of people are some of the unlucky ones most at risk from data breaches.

Over the course of the last 20 years or so, most general users of the internet have probably made more passwords than some of us have had hot dinners!
As time moves on, fashion changes, sites become old news and people migrate to newer, improved platforms. The leading social media of the early 2000’s was arguably Myspace for example. Myspace morphed into Facebook and Facebook is currently morphing into something else.
No sites last forever and some have had more than their fair share of time in the sun.
This is progression, albeit a shaky one.

So, to put it in laymans terms. As technology progresses and the skills of developers grow, so too do the skills of hackers. When a site has lost popularity there is little chance that all the original coding will be updated to current security guidelines. This is an easy entry point for those with less scruples. The vast information stored on social media sites which include passwords, date of birth etc can then be used for nefarious purposes and sold to the highest bidder.

The latest breach of over 773 million records was highlighted on the Troy Hunt blog

If you are concerned that your own personal data may have been compromised you can check here for more information.

Changing passwords

One of the most important things to do if your email has been compromised is to change the password. We have included a couple of the popular ones below if you need links:

Outlook password

Gmail