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Comcast Data Breach Impacts Thousands, Sensitive Information Compromised

 



Comcast Cable Communications LLC reports that it is a victim of a data breach compromising personal information of more than 237,000 individuals, including 22 residents of Maine. According to an investigation, the breach is traced back to Financial Business and Consumer Solutions, Inc., a third-party with which Comcast has associated in the past.

The data breach began on February 14, 2024, when an unauthorised third party gained access to FBCS's computer network. Access to this unauthorised party had led to a ransomware attack where cybercriminals downloaded and encrypted sensitive data. Initially, on March 13, 2024, FBCS had communicated to Comcast that customer information did not appear to have been compromised. However, months later, on July 17, 2024, it came to be known that sensitive customer data had indeed been affected.


New Comcast Hacking Findings

As soon as the breach was discovered, FBCS reached out to the FBI and hired some private cybersecurity firms to comprehend the full dimension of the breach. The investigation revealed names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and Comcast account numbers accessed. The acquired information is of a very sensitive nature that encompasses substantial risk factors for identity theft and even financial frauds.

Still, FBCS has maintained that, to date, there is nothing known to be ill-gotten from the stolen data. Only the records starting 2021 are affected, as in 2020, FBCS terminated its contract with Comcast.


Support for Victims

Comcast began notifying the victims on 16 August 2024 and is providing them with free identity theft protection for 12 months. Comcast is partnering with CyEx Identity Defense Complete for credit monitoring and additional support services.

The notification stated that the breach had occurred only in FBCS systems and was unrelated to Comcast's networks themselves. To reach out to the affected customers, the company, Comcast, geared efforts towards helping them manage the fallout of the breach. It provided direct communication and access to a support service. Outside legal counsel for Comcast, Michael Borgia noted, "We are committed to helping our customers navigate the aftermath of this incident and ensuring they have the resources necessary to protect themselves."

Watching Your Back: Protection of Consumer Data End

The Comcast breach highlights the kinds of current risks facing consumers whose data is managed by third-party vendors. In response to this, Comcast is counselling its consumers to be on their guard. Protecting measures include: reviewing account statements for suspicious transactions, reviewing credit reports, and registering for the identity protection services Comcast is offering. Moreover, Comcast is suggesting the enabling of two-step verification for Xfinity accounts in order to increase security to its fullest potential.

This incident underlines the critical need to protect information while ensuring greater caution with regard to personal information in light of more prudent cyber attacks.



Comcast Data Breach: Over 237,000 Customers’ Information Stolen in Cyberattack on Debt Collector

 

Comcast has confirmed that sensitive data on 237,703 of its customers was stolen in a cyberattack on Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), a debt collection agency it previously worked with. The breach, which occurred in February 2024, involved unauthorized access to FBCS’s computer systems, resulting in the theft of customer data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and Comcast account information. Although Comcast was initially assured that none of its customers were affected by the breach, FBCS later revealed that the data had indeed been compromised. 

The breach unfolded between February 14 and February 26, 2024. During this period, the attackers downloaded sensitive data and encrypted some systems as part of a ransomware attack. FBCS launched an investigation upon discovering the breach and involved third-party cybersecurity specialists to assess the damage. However, it wasn’t until July 2024 that FBCS contacted Comcast again, informing the company that its customer data had been part of the stolen records. Comcast acted promptly upon receiving this updated information, notifying its affected customers in August and offering support services such as identity and credit monitoring. This move came after FBCS informed Comcast that, due to its current financial difficulties, it could not provide the necessary protection services for those affected. 

Comcast has stepped in to offer these services directly to its customers. The breach exposed not just Comcast’s customers but also a broader group of individuals, with FBCS initially revealing that over 4 million records had been compromised. The exact method of the breach and how the attackers infiltrated FBCS’s systems remain unclear, as FBCS has not disclosed specific technical details. Additionally, no ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack, leaving the full scope of the incident somewhat shrouded in mystery. Comcast has made it clear that its own systems, including those of its broadband and television services, were not affected by the breach. The data stolen from FBCS pertains to customers who were registered around 2021, and Comcast had ceased using FBCS for debt collection services by 2020. 

Nevertheless, this breach highlights the risks that third-party service providers can pose to customer data security. In the aftermath, this incident serves as a reminder of the growing threat posed by cyberattacks, particularly ransomware, which has become a common tactic for malicious actors. As companies increasingly rely on third-party vendors for services such as debt collection, the need for stringent security measures and oversight becomes even more critical. Comcast’s experience shows how quickly situations can evolve and how third-party vulnerabilities can directly impact a company’s customers. While Comcast has taken steps to mitigate the damage from this breach, the case of FBCS raises important questions about the security practices of third-party service providers. 

As data breaches become more frequent, customers may find themselves at risk from vulnerabilities in systems beyond the companies with which they interact directly.

Comcast-Owned Telcom Business 'Xfinity' Suffers Data Breach


Comcast-owned Xfinity has suffered a major data breach, affecting more than 25 million of its customers. 

This intrusion not only demonstrates a risky and expanding practice among hackers, but it has also greatly increased the vulnerability of millions of US-based individuals. In certain cases, the situation is actually a lot worse than one may believe.

According to editor of Scamicide.com, Attorney Steven Weisman, this data breach is significantly dreadful for customers since threat actors were able to access the last four digits of social security numbers of the affected individuals. The first five numbers could easily be figured out by the hackers, as they are based on the owner’s residential address and the location where the card was issued.

“So if a criminal has the last four digits, the first three they can figure out easily, the second set they can get relatively easily, so it puts a lot of people in danger of identity theft,” explained Weisman.

Due to this particular issue of rather uncomplicated identification of social security numbers, the government had started randomizing the numbers in 2011.

Furthermore, these hackers are rather harmful. They introduced their malware in the software that Xfinity bought, rather than really hacking into Xfinity. According to Weisman, they are known as "supply chain" hacks, and their prevalence is significantly on the rise. 

“They put their malware into the legitimate software. A company like Comcast gets some accounting software that they have no reason to think is anyway tainted and bam – the malware is in there and the personal information is stolen,” said Weisman.

In the recent times, these types of data breach are becoming more common. Customers are being asked by Xfinity to check their credit, change their passwords, and sign up for a multi-step verification process after the company announced the incident on its website. Additionally, people ought to routinely check their credit scores and freeze their credit.

About Xfinity

Xfinity is a US-based telecommunications business segment, owned by Comcast Corporation, used in marketing consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. Xfinty, before being established in 2010 was operating under the common-label of Comcast, where the aforementioned services were marketed.  

Comcast Data Breach Compromised with 1.5 Billion Data Records

 

American cable and Internet giant Comcast was struck by a data breach few days back. An unprotected developer database with 1.5 billion data records and other internal information was available via the Internet to third parties during this data breach. 

Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator network and, after the AT&T it is the second largest internet service provider as well as the third largest telephonic company in the US after the AT&T and Verizon Communications. 

Recently the research team of WebsitePlanet in collaboration with the security researcher, Jeremiah Fowler, identified a non-password-protected database with a total size of 478 GB of 1.5 billion records. The database of Comcast featured dashboard permissions, logging, client IPs, @comcast e-mail addresses and hashed passwords in publicly accessible domain. By this breach, a description of the internal functionality, logging and general network structure is established with the IP addresses contained in the database. The server also revealed the Comcast Development Team's email addresses and hashed passwords. Further the database also provided the error reports, warning and the task or job scheduling information, cluster names, device names, and internal rules marked by the tag “Privileged=True.” Middleware also was detected in error logs and can often be used for ransomware or other bugs as a secondary way. 

However the measures to control the access to the data were taken around in an hour, as the malicious actors could have easily accessed and retrieved the confidential information until the data was secured. The researchers relying on Comcast's data immediately submitted a notice of disclosure and affirmed their observations to their Security Defect Reporting team. 

Fowler also said that, this was among the fastest response times I have ever had. Comcast acted fast and professionally to restrict the data set that was accessible to anyone with an internet connection. 

A representative for Comcast stated that, “The database in question contained only simulated data, with no real employee, customer or company data, outside of four publicly available Comcast email addresses. The database was used for software development purposes and was inadvertently exposed to the Internet. It was quickly closed when the researcher alerted us of the issue. We value the work of independent security researchers in helping us to make our products and services safer and thank the researcher for his responsible disclosure in this matter.” 

Naturally, it is unavoidable to deal with errors which reveal data as long as people are engaged in configurations. However, Comcast's size does cause these mistakes to be very disruptive and can affect many subscribers and business customers. That's the reason why these firms would follow those security lists, double-check additional teams, and do whatever they can to reduce chance of publicity. Though in this incident the action was taken in time.