By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News
The personal data of millions of Americans is at risk following a massive cyberattack on a commonly used file-transfer program called MOVEit. Louisiana and Oregon residents with driver’s licenses or state identification cards are affected, and officials fear that list could grow, CNN reports. The breach also affects hundreds of firms and organizations, including multinational corporations, federal agencies and universities. Officials attribute the attack to a group of Russian-speaking hackers known as Clop, which victims say is demanding ransom payments in exchange for the stolen data.
- Other known victims include British Airways, energy giant Shell, the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Georgia and the government of Nova Scotia.
Major Cyber Attack at OMV Vendor, Louisianans Should Act Urgently to Protect Their Identities
gov.louisiana.gov • 3 min read
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/4158
BY
Millions of Americans’ personal DMV data exposed in massive MOVEit hack
arstechnica.com • 3 min read
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/06/millions-of-americans-personal-dmv-data-exposed-in-massive-moveit-hack/?utm_medium=social&utm_social-type=owned&utm_brand=ars&utm_source=linkedin
As an LSU alumna, this most recent cyber attack hits close to home. Sharing for all my Louisiana friends and connects.
In summary, a major cyber attack has been discovered at MOVEit, a third-party data transfer service used by government entities, major businesses and organizations around the world. Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) is one of the affected organizations, and it is believed that the personal data of all Louisianans with a state-issued driver’s license, ID, or car registration has been exposed, including their names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birthdates, heights, eye colors, driver’s license numbers, and vehicle registration information.
Louisianans are being advised to take immediate steps to protect their identities, including:
– Changing all of their passwords, including passwords for online accounts such as banking, social media, and healthcare portals.
– Reporting any suspected identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission.
– Freezing their credit reports, which prevents others from opening new accounts or loans in their names.
– Checking their Social Security benefits to make sure that they have not been tampered with.
– Requesting an “Identity Protection Pin” from the Internal Revenue Service to prevent someone else from filing a tax return in their name.
#cyberattack #security #identitytheft #data