Telecoms provider TalkTalk is investigating a significant and sustained cyber attack on its website, in which some of its customer data may have been accessed.
Be wary if you receive any telephone calls claiming to be from TalkTalk, especially if the caller asks you for private information in relation to your business account.
TalkTalk says it never asks customers to give their full passwords or PIN codes over the telephone.
“If you’re talking to somebody, think whether what you are saying is exactly the kind of information which would open up your business bank account,” Matthew Bater, Commercial Manager from CSG
“These companies don’t ask for that kind of information.”
If you are not sure whether a call from TalkTalk is genuine, ask for a reference number and call the company back yourself on 0870 444 1820.
Delete unrecognised e-mails:
Attackers can send very convincing emails that look like they are from TalkTalk but are actually trying to gather your company information.
They may even refer to the cyber-attack in an attempt to appear genuine.
Be suspicious if an email asks you to reply with personal information or click on a link. Criminals can set up official-looking websites to harvest your business details.
“I would caution against clicking links in emails you are unsure of – it’s always better to type the website address manually, to avoid the risk of being redirected to a phishing site,” continued Matthew Bater.
If you suspect an email is not genuine, call the company’s customer service line and ask whether they have sent one.
Monitor the company bank account:
Although it can be a nuisance for victims of a cyber-attack to monitor their bank accounts, it can help spot problems quickly.
Look through your recent company transactions for any payments you do not recognise, even if they are very small.
“People will try and take a small amount first. TalkTalk has four million customers. If they do four million £1 transactions, that’s not a bad haul,” said Matthew Bater.
If you spot any unusual activity you should contact your bank and Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
Never reuse passwords:
TalkTalk is advising customers to change their account password as soon as its website is back up and running.
It is especially important to change your password on other websites, if you have used the same one across many accounts.
Attackers may have harvested usernames, email addresses and passwords from TalkTalk which could let them unlock other services such as your email.
“It’s a growing concern that many use the same password and personal details across multiple online accounts, meaning if their details have been compromised by one attack they could find other accounts suffer too,” said Matthew Bater.
CSG take a proactive approach to IT security and use a combination of industry leading tools designed to provide businesses with extremely high levels of protection for their data and systems. We offer a multi-layered approach to security, securing your infrastructure, endpoints, mobile devices and internet connections against emerging cyber threats.
We are resellers of industry leading security vendors and design, provision and secure networks for hundreds of enterprises. Our expertise includes;
- Cyberoam Next Generation Firewalls (NGF)
- Managed anti-virus and anti-malware
- E-mail security
After getting to know your business, we will audit your existing systems using industry leading techniques and design a network security solution to suit your needs and budget which will in turn, offer you a greater insight into your network performance and security. There is a limit to the number of FREE audits we can provide each month and this offer is valid for a limited time only.
In light of the TalkTalk attack we would love to help your organisation so why not get in touch and secure yours now?