The Computer Center posted an article January 17th that warned about the rise in cyber attacks. In that article, there was a reference to a report that up to 500 Million Marriott Customers’ data was stolen in a breach. Today, Marriott will now let you check if you’re a victim of the Starwood hack.
What Information Was Gathered?
There was mentioned that this hack awas “one of the most significant data breaches in history given the size…and sensitivity of the personal information that was stolen”. Sensitive information gathered were:
- Name
- Mailing Address
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- Passport Number
- Account Information
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Arrival and Departure Information
- Reservation Date
- Communication Preferences
- Payment Card Numbers (Encrypted)
- Payment Card Expiration Dates
What Can You Do After a Data Breach?
You will have to determine what was stolen and then change all affected passwords. It’s best that you change all of your passwords just to be safe. Contact relevant financial institutions and then the credit-reporting bureaus like Experian or TransUnion. Finally, sign up for a credit- or identity-monitoring service.
What Can be Done to Protect You and Your Small Business?
The Computer Center in Janesville, WI created a useful report that is FREE called The 7 Most Critical IT Security Protections Every Business Must Have In Place Now To Protect Themselves From Cybercrime, Data Breaches And Hacker Attacks. If interested in receiving your copy, just fill out a form to have a copy sent to you.
As a business, if you are covered under The Computer Center’s Comprehensive Care service, they will roll out updates and restart routers as needed to address the malware. If you are not covered, they recommend that you schedule preventative maintenance be performed on your router. This will take approximately 1 hour; they will install the latest firmware and ensure that the correct settings are in place to keep you safe. For more information, contact The Computer Center at (608) 755-1524.