Capital One Data Breach: How Impacted Users Can Stay More Secure

Capital One is one of the 10 largest banks based on U.S. deposits. As with many big-name brands, cybercriminals see these companies as an ideal target to carry out large-scale attacks, which has now become a reality for the financial organization. According to CNN, approximately 100 million Capital One users in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada have been affected by a data breach exposing about 140,000 Social Security numbers, 1 million Canadian Social Insurance numbers, and 80,000 bank account numbers, and more.

According to the New York Post, the alleged hacker claimed the data was obtained through a firewall misconfiguration. This misconfiguration allowed command execution with a server that granted access to data in Capital One’s storage space at Amazon. Luckily, Capital One stated that it “immediately fixed the configuration vulnerability.”

This breach serves as a reminder that users and companies alike should do everything in their power to keep personal information protected. If you think you might have been affected by this breach, follow these tips to help you stay secure:

• Check to see if you’ve been notified by Capital One. The bank will notify everyone who was affected by the breach and offer them free credit monitoring and identity protection services. Be sure to take advantage of the services and check out the website Capital One set up for information on this breach.
• Review your accounts. Be sure to look over your credit card and banking statements and report any suspicious activity as soon as possible. Capital One will allow you to freeze your card so purchases can no longer be made.
• Change your credentials. Err on the side of caution and change your passwords for all of your accounts. Taking extra precautions can help you avoid future attacks.
• Freeze your credit. Freezing your credit will make it impossible for criminals to take out loans or open up new accounts in your name. To do this effectively, you will need to freeze your credit at each of the three major credit-reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian).
• Consider using identity theft protection. A solution like McAfee Identify Theft Protection will help you to monitor your accounts and alert you of any suspicious activity.

And, of course, to stay updated on all of the latest consumer and mobile security threats, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

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