Cybercriminals Bicker Over Sony Breach; Many Claim to be Responsible
Sony's recent breach has multiple threat actors trying to take claim for breaching the company.
Data Breach
On the morning of September 26th, a Sony Group Corporation spokesperson told Bleeping Computer, "We are currently investigating the situation, and we have no further comment at this time,” The supposed situation? An extortion group, known as RansomedVC, accessed the gaming company’s website and stole 3.4GB of data; the group stated that they opted for a data leak over trying to get a ransom for the data, as Sony will not pay up. RansomedVC, in discussion with BleepingComputer, made claims that the data which was stolen when malicious access was made to Sony’s networks was actually 260 GB worth of information.
Despite no firm confirmation from Sony of the scope of the breach, there is another cybergang claiming that the attack is the result of its handywork. Threat actor known as ‘MajorNelson’ has refuted RansomedVC’s claims, calling them scammers who were after influence. Both groups who have made claims of being responsible for the attack have posted similar data on online data leak forums and it is still unknown which one was truly responsible for the attack.
Regardless of which group accessed Sony’s networks and took data, Sony users are likely unnerved by the breach. This is not the first time that the electronics company has endured a breach. In 2014, Sony was hit by a massive hack by North Korean actors following a parody film being released; before this, in 2011, the Sony subsidiary, Playstation was hit with an attack, resulting in 70 million users’ data being leaked. Due to the fact that the specific content of the data taken in the breach has not yet been confirmed, Sony users who feel concerned that they might have been affected by the hack can take a few steps to stay ahead of any potential issues.
Update Accounts
Following a suspected data breach, be sure to secure your accounts, particularly any accounts which might have been affected by the attack. This can be done by updating your passwords, especially for any accounts where similar credentials exist – which is poor password hygiene, but unfortunately, not an uncommon practice for many. If your credit card is tied to an account which you believe may have been breached, it can also be a good idea to update your bank login information as well.
Implement MFA
When possible, beef up your account security by utilizing multi-factor authentication. This is when a linked contact method such as a phone number or email address is sent a one-time passcode at each login attempt. Set these up for as many accounts as possible - it adds less than a minute to the time it takes you to login but can help to make it harder for a malicious person to use your data should they get their hands on it. If your account requires the login credentials compromised in the attack and a one-time code, then the malicious actors will be unable to access your account even though they have the login info. Additionally, you would be notified of a false attempt to access your account, should one occur.
Monitor Your Credit Reports
If you think an account has already been included in a data breach, be sure not only to update your passwords and add in multi-factor authentication when possible, but pay attention to your credit report as well. This will help you to identify any unusual activity and put a stop to it quickly. If you do not need to open a new line of credit any time soon, you can also put a freeze on your credit report for a short amount of time to block any nefarious activity before it happens.
