Everything About the AXA & Meridian Sec Hack in 60 Sec

If you haven’t heard, cyber security is the place to be at today.

Because that’s where the money is.

Image: memegenerator

I mean, with Singapore now trying to turn into a #SmartNation, everything is going online. From cashless transactions to calling for everything from apps, the future can be a pretty scary one.

On one side, you have the convenience factor going for you but this article is going to show you the other side.

Hackers. Or to be exact, cyber criminals.

Here’s what happened just a couple of days ago you might’ve missed.

Meridian Secondary School Lodged Police Report Over Hacked Website

Image: channelnewsasia.com

On 7 September 2017, the Singapore media reported that Meridian Secondary School had one of their websites hacked.

They discovered that one of their websites hosting an online art competition for their students was hacked.

The vendor managing the Young Illustrator Award website informed the school about the security issue a day after it was hacked.

The school emphasised that the website was a standalone system and wasn’t connected to the rest of the school system.

*Cue sighs of relief*

Still, they’re advising their students to change their passwords just in case.

Y’know, better be safe than sorry.

Image: channelnewsasia.com

The website has since been taken down.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that they are working closely with relevant authorities to investigate the security breach.

Based on their investigations, they concluded that the breach was “fairly contained” and no “personally identifiable data had been compromised”.

Unlike what happened to AXA.

Personal Details of 5,400 AXA Customers Exposed In Cyber Attack

Image: channelnewsasia.com

If you’re an AXA customer, chances are you’re running around the house screaming after reading this.

But don’t worry, if you’ve never received an email from the French Insurance company (yes, they’re French. I didn’t know that too), your personal details are safe.

On 7 Sep, it was reported that the personal details of 5,400 AXA customers were compromised in a cyber attack.

The data stolen were the email addresses, mobile numbers, insurance policy numbers and dates of birth of both past and present customers from its Our Health Portal.

Thankfully, the name, NRIC number, address, credit card, bank details, health status, claims history or marital status of customers were not leaked.

AXA data protection officer, Eric Leyton, said that customers are not required to do “any further action” as the data leaked were “not likely to, on its own, expose you to identity theft”.

However, he did warn customers to be wary of phishing attempts by cyber criminals.

If anyone tried to scam your money or cheat you using information that they might have obtained through this cyber attack, call the police and tell AXA.

Lastly, he added that the company has lodged a police report and is relooking at their cyber security system.

In addition, AXA’s Our Health Portal is now totally secured.

MAS Gets In On The Action

A spokesperson for MAS said that they are aware of the data breach.

They asked AXA to thoroughly review their system and rectify any security loopholes immediately.

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore said that this is a reminder for all companies out there who hold customers’ personal data to be vigilant.

Because if you’re not and it’s found out by the authorities, you’ll be dealt with the Singaporean way.

Just like Toh-Shi Printing Singapore, the printing company who was deemed responsible for the Aviva security breach last year.

They were fined $25,000 by PDPC.

One of the reasons why some people don’t like #SmartNation.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured Image: energyconversation.sg / moe.edu.sg