by Matt, the Next Web
Over the past few months, many high-profile companies have had their customer details compromised by attackers, targeting the third-party marketing firms that hold email addresses and many other personal details. Perhaps the most notable attack was that on Epsilon, the world’s largest permission-based email marketer. Playing host to customer details of hundreds of companies including Kroger, TiVo, US Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Citi, Home Shopping Network, Ameriprise Financial, LL Bean Visa Card and many more, people present on the marketing lists for these companies suddenly found themselves receiving warning emails informing them that their details might have been compromised. In a large percentage of attacks, which are specifically aimed at gathering passwords and other sensitive information, only email addresses and other personally identifiable information was stolen. This could potentially lead to an increase in e-mail spam and phishing attacks, but because the attackers know the person by their name and also perhaps knowing where they live, these attacks can be a lot more relatable and persuasive.
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