Which little piggy is Epsilon? What was their house built with? Wood, Brick or Straw?
I am curious aren’t you?
On March 3oth, Epsilon detected that customer information of a subset of its email clients had been exposed by an unauthorized entry into its email system. “The affected clients represent approximately 2% of Epsilon’s total client base. Since the discovery of the unauthorized entry, rigorous internal and external reviews continue to confirm that only email addresses and or names were compromised,” according to Epsilon’s website.
I can’t help but to wonder how long the “wolf,” had been visiting Epsilon’s house. He may even have lived there. There are still more questions than there are answers. But one thing is certain, if he didn’t live there, a good bedside manner was his forte.
“A cup of tea anyone?”
Plausibility for the case that the perpetrator may have been bred from within is rooted in a a simple observation: the breadth and depth of the breach. “Epsilon has the world’s largest email marketing service, and sends more than 40 billion emails a year and manages customer databases from 2500 clients.” What is 2 percent of 2500? I hate math, plus the result would be wrong anyway since, a single Epsilon client could have 2 million customers. So in reality, the number of victims is massive and hard to determine.
Click here to sign up for a free demonstration of our database security solution. Our most recent release help organizations to better insulate themselves against breaches in the following ways.
- Simplify security and compliance regulations with a set of automated and centralized controls
- Embed data security and privacy capabilities into all of their enterprise databases and applications such as CRM, human resources, ERP, accounting, finance and other applications
- Helps to meet compliance mandates by delivering stronger information governance controls to ensure the privacy and integrity of corporate data while simplifying audits
- Expanded support for the mainframe and also added blocking that is more proactive, so it will block a user from accessing all data until it is resolved.
- Fraud protection for SAP systems
- Integration with Tivoli software
Have you seen the movie “Inside Man?”
Dalton Russell, the character played by, Clive Owen sums up the aura of the Epsilon e-mail breach. Here is what he said:
“My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I never repeat myself. Recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. Why? Because I can.”
Our societal code of conduct implies that those who introduce themselves to us are assumed safe, at least initially. Consider this principle in light of the massive breach, so tagged, by Security Week’s blogger Mike Lemon. But, unlike ‘Inside Man’s,‘ sophisticated bank heist, the hostages that extend from Citibank to JP Morgan Chase, and the consumers who have entrusted their personal identifiable information (PII) to them may never experience the relief and exhilaration that accompany successful hostage negotiations because their enemies will present themselves as friends and relatives. They will open the door for them because they think they know them.
“Perhaps some coffee instead?”
Deluded by the notion, that the theft of consumers email addresses, do not present a clear and perpetual danger, or that it is somehow not as serious, as suggested in the published statement from Epsilon when they said that, “only email addresses and or names were compromised,” provide evidence that the gurus at Epsilon require expertise for which the Tech industry is not equipped.
Nevertheless PII’s published definition by the National Institute of Standards and Technology remains. And the best ‘hostage negotiators’ will come up short in their efforts, since it will be virtually impossible to ascertain how and when the next victim will get a ‘bullet’ to the head.
In the mean time, consumers must fend for themselves. Vigilance is the call of every instance that they are prompted to release any personal information. Suspect everyone and anyone because the wolf is on the prowl and he may already be in your house.
