The data breach extends relatively widely as Web.com, Network Solutions parent company was also impacted along with Register.com, which is another business owned by Web.com. Network Solutions is the best known, and longest established, of the trio.
In a notification, Network Solutions states that it disclosed some two weeks ago that a “third-party gained unauthorized access to a limited number of our computer systems in late August 2019, and as a result, account information may have been accessed”. However, the information has only now come to light, as picked up by websites like Bleeping Computer.
The notification does not say how many people are affected, although Beta News estimates that the numbers are likely to run into the millions. Network Solutions is currently the world’s fifth-largest domain name registrar, with almost seven million domains.
Examining this latest data breach, Alexander García-Tobar, CEO and co-founder of Valimail has told Digital Journal: “Network Solutions’ data breach exposed account holders’ contact and service information, which is all that cyber criminals need to execute highly tailored, convincing phishing attacks and impersonation attempts.”
The biggest risk, García-Tobar explains is with: phishing campaigns which “often follow hot on the heels of breaches like this, targeting the victims with fake security warnings that look like they came from the breached company.”
The consequences of this. if successful, García-Tobar are that “these attacks can lead to account takeover, identity theft and other scams. Sender identity-based email security solutions are a powerful defense that can stop impersonation-based phishing emails from ever entering inboxes.”
