Skip to main content

Another Day, Another Hack: Up to 320,000 Time Warner Cable Email Passwords


Jasper_The_Rasper
Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+54
7 January 2016 // 12:10 PM  By  Joseph Cox
 
US telecoms company Time Warner Cable Inc announced on Wednesday that up to 320,000 customers could have had their email and password details stolen, Reuters reports.
 
According to the news wire, Time Warner Cable said that no evidence of a breach was found in the company's systems. Instead, the details may have been obtained by directly targeting customers themselves, perhaps through phishing emails or malware, or by reusing credentials obtained via a data breach of another company. A Time Warner Cable spokesperson told Reuters the company was notified of the issue by the FBI.
 
Full Article

11 replies

Ssherjj
Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+62
  • Moderator
  • 21952 replies
  • January 7, 2016
That's just great! 😞 I quess I will be changing my password! Dual authentication it is! 
 
Thanks Jasper..

nic
Forum|alt.badge.img+56
  • Retired Webrooter
  • 6752 replies
  • January 7, 2016
7 days into 2016 and we already have our first mega-hack. Good job Time Warner, you win the prize /s

Baldrick
Gold VIP
  • Gold VIP
  • 16060 replies
  • January 7, 2016
Well, no surprise about this...it was bound to happen sooner rather than later.
 
And with the pundits all seemingly suggesting that this is the year that hackers turn their attention to getting hold of our data held by companies, I doubt very much it iwlll be the last. In fact one pundit suggested that we should expect one MAJOR hack a week this year...so only another 51 to go...:(

Ssherjj
Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+62
  • Moderator
  • 21952 replies
  • January 7, 2016
Just to add that I called Time Warner and they had such a nonchalant attitude by saying oh well we will assist you in changing your password. I pay my TW bill on their website and so I had to change that password and email password. And where's the dual authenication for TW customers? I didn't find it either.:@

  • Fresh Face
  • 4 replies
  • January 29, 2016
Time Warner really doesn't care. They are also famous for telling people who complain about the high volume of spam that it isn't their problem. It's up to customers to do their own spam filtration and protect themselves from malware. 
 
People should shy away from unsafe email services such as RoadRunner or address that end in:
 
aol.com
yahoo.com
sbcglobal.net
att.net
prodigy.net
 
etc.....
 
Use a safer mail platform like Google's Gmail.....

nic
Forum|alt.badge.img+56
  • Retired Webrooter
  • 6752 replies
  • January 29, 2016
Sadly Time Warner and Comcast both are monopolies in a lot of places, so they can get away with whatever behavior they like because people don't have a choice.

My wife and I were one of the 320,000 accounts hacked. First I started getting rejected FORWARDED emails that I never sent, and addressed to people that I do not know. Later, the account password was changed by the hacker and I could not receive or send Emails. We had to change both of our passwords twice because they were hacked a second time. TiWC cable denied knowing anything about being hacked... what BS. I would suggest that they be fined for being complicit in this email hacking scheme, as we were only notified of the problem on Jan. 28th by USPS mail. That's weeks after I reported a possible email hack, and then again one week later when it occurred again. I submitted 3 reports in total. I suspect that they covered their tracks well. FYI: We use Secure/Anywhere Premier along with 12-20 character, randomly generated passwords; and have done so for years. We are very careful with regard to emails and surfing the web. Then Monday, my wifes computer was so badly corrupted, that I had to restore it to its initial state. Tomorrow I reinstall Secure/Anywhere. 

  • Fresh Face
  • 1 reply
  • January 30, 2016
This is why I NEVER do any financial transactions or any other sensitive transactions over the internet.  I initiate most of all transactions in person, over the phone and "snail" mail (USPS).  Something I learned when I took my first computer related job back in the early 1980s, NEVER PUT ANYTHING ON THE INTERNET YOU WOULD NOT WANT ON A HIGHWAY BILLBOARD".  ;)

Baldrick
Gold VIP
  • Gold VIP
  • 16060 replies
  • January 30, 2016
I have to beg to differ with you on that bearsun704...the Internet is perfectly safe in tems of transacting as long as one is sensible, careful and makes sure one has adequate protection.  Most of the loss of data occurs due to thefts from hacked servers and not all of the information held on customers is arrived at by online registration...big companies do not have one database for those customers who registered & transact online and one for those who do not.
 
All the data from whatever source is held in one set of files or databases so when those are hacked it does not matter how one registered or transacts...the bad guys may well have gotten your personal data.
 
I have been transacting over the Internet since it was possible to do so and so far as far as I know (and I hope it remains so) I have been able to do it safely...the biggest risk was the recent TalkTalk hack as I was a custoemr at the time but luckily my data was not involved...again...that was something completely out of my control.
 
Care and sensible precautions should allow all to use the Internet fully and safely.
 
But then again...just my thoughts...for what they are worth...;)

  • Fresh Face
  • 4 replies
  • January 30, 2016
Online banking CAN be safe if one goes about it correctly and takes the correct precausions. Use strong passwords, use safer web browsers, use safer operating systems, safer email accounts, don't click on links or attachments in email you don't recognize or that seem remotely questionable, use proper security software (ie. antivirus, antimalware, etc...).

Time Warner has never made any secret of the fact that they are not the most secure email on the planet. When something goes wrong, they simply pass the buck and tell the user it is their responsibility. This absolves them of taking any responsibility of their own.

Many of our customers have stated they would never shop online because it's "not safe". In most cases it is much safer to shop online than it is in a store, restaurant, or gas station. When you go out to eat at a restaurant, your server usually brings you a little leather folio with your bill. Most people will put a credit card in the folio and give it to the server to process their payment. However, who knows what they are really doing with your credit card. They could run off and make a copy. They could have a photographic memory. Who knows. I have heard of many more people getting their information stolen this way, doing face to face interactions, than have gotten their information stolen online, where in most cases transactions are all handled directly computer to computer with no person to person interaction taking place.

  • Popular Voice
  • 65 replies
  • January 30, 2016
😃 You are smart.  I have Time Warner Cable internet I do not have an email account with them nor do I pay them online.  However I do buy online amazon and others.  I use only a certain credit card online only and I keep close track however wish I never started buying online.

Reply