Huge data leak exposes 14 million customer shipping records

In today’s digital age, no industry is safe from data breaches. Over the past few months, we have witnessed security incidents impacting various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and technology. Now, the shipping industry has also fallen victim to a major data breach, with a global shipper, Hipshipper, exposing 14 million records.

The breach was discovered in December during the peak of the holiday shipping season, when people around the world are sending and receiving gifts. The exposed data was found in an unprotected AWS bucket owned by Hipshipper, which is a shipping platform used by sellers on popular e-commerce platforms like eBay, Shopify, and Amazon.

The exposed data included sensitive information such as customer names, home addresses, phone numbers, and order details like mailing dates and parcel information. This information could be used by cybercriminals to carry out scams and phishing attacks. For example, hackers could impersonate trusted businesses and send fake messages using specific order details to trick people into sharing personal or financial information.

Following the discovery of the breach, researchers at Cybernews notified Hipshipper, and the issue was eventually fixed in January. However, the data was exposed for at least a month, leaving millions of records vulnerable to exploitation.

In light of this incident, it is crucial for individuals to take proactive steps to protect themselves after a data breach. Here are seven ways to safeguard your personal information:

1. Beware of phishing attempts and use strong antivirus software to prevent malicious attacks.
2. Watch out for suspicious snail mail that may be used for fraudulent purposes.
3. Invest in identity theft protection services to monitor your financial accounts and credit report.
4. Enable two-factor authentication on all your accounts for added security.
5. Regularly monitor your credit reports for any signs of unauthorized activity.
6. Update your passwords and use unique, strong passwords for each account.
7. Remove your personal data from public databases to reduce the risk of identity theft and scams.

It is essential for businesses to prioritize cybersecurity and protect customer data. The lack of basic security measures, such as password protection, can lead to devastating data breaches that compromise sensitive information. As consumers, it is important to stay vigilant and take proactive steps to safeguard our personal information in an increasingly digital world.

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