So according to the CPB (US Customs and Border Protection), a security breach took place on May 31. This data breach stole photos and car info that travel in and out of the US. This is a security alert: Licence and traveler images stolen.
First, they sent the photo to a sub-contractor network. Then, the hackers used a cyber attack to steal them. They did not hit the CPB’s networks during this breach. But they did compromise drivers licence photos and licence plate images. They also say this sub-contractor, whoever it is, copied and sent out images without the CPB’s permission or approval.
One CPB spokesperson says this breach affected around 100,000 people. They want to assure that they took no passport info. All airline and airline passenger info is also safe. But keep in mind this is fresh off the Perceptics incident. Someone broke in their data, this government sub-contractor. Then, their contents ended up on the dark web. However, and thankfully, none of the CPB’s stolen info got on the dark web. Or should I say, it’s not up there yet. This is all the CPB is telling us right now. But you can best believe other people are not keeping silent.
Because those from politics to IT support are speaking out against this kind of security breach. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) said we need to prevent this in the future. An ACLU spokesperson said this breach is a reminder that the government should not be using facial recognition technology. But there is a point here. When it comes to this security alert: licence and traveler images stole, there is only one real defense. That is prevention, prevention, and more prevention. Because once a cyber crime like this happens, then it’s awfully hard to catch these crooks. It’s also hard to find the info they took. How long do you think it will be before they recover these things? Do you think they will ever catch anyone?