Amazon, one of the biggest internet marketplaces, has suffered a data breach just two days before Black Friday. The breach, which occurred on Wednesday, was the result of a “technical error” according to Amazon. The marketplace declined to comment on the breach but stated that they have contacted all affected customers and alerted their customers to the possibility of seeing phishing attacks or scams. The breach only impacted the customers’ email and full name–Amazon was adamant that no passwords were affected. Amazon also stated that they “take all security-related matters very seriously and your account security is our top priority.” The company reassured its customers that they have security measures in place to continue to protect the sensitive information housed by Amazon.
Analyst Notes
As per most data beaches, users should be aware that just because their passwords were not included in this breach, attackers could still target them with other types of attacks. Users will likely see an increased amount of targeted phishing attacks towards them from attackers that do research on their email and name–hoping to trick users into falling for a phishing email or scam by making the email relate personally towards that person. Users should ensure that if an email seems suspect, they should not click any links and check documents before opening them. It is also a good practice to double check spam filters to ensure that they are working and filtering the correct emails.
