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Animal activists claim to have hacked into insurance company to steal financial data on badger cull supporters
From: Erica Absetz <erica () riskbasedsecurity com>
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:39:54 -0500
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339351/Animal-activists-claim-hacked-NFU-insurance-company-steal-financial-data-badger-cull-supporters.html Animal rights activists claim to have hacked in to an insurance company linked to the National Farmers Union to steal financial date on badge cull supporters. The hackers state that they have broken into the systems of NFU Mutual and have been extracting and modifying customer accounts since last month. NFU Mutual are investigating the claims but say there are no signs of data intrusion. Badgering supporters: The hackers claim to have stolen information on National Farmers' Union Mutual's customers who support the badger cull In a statement published on the website of US animal right publication BiteBack, the activists claim to have ‘exploited vulnerabilities’ in NFU Mutual’s systems since last month, in a hack which had been planned since September. The activists boast of obtaining information on NFU Mutual’s customers and allegedly modifying the accounts of people they say are involved in the badger cull. They claim their hack had allowed them to ‘download almost all of their customer files including full financial details, claims and account history.’ The letter, which was sent to BiteBack anonymously, was signed: ‘BrockCyberClan - saving wildlife one bit at a time’. The self-proclaimed hackers made threats to exploit the details of NFU mutual customers, adding:‘We will show the same mercy to their finances that they show to the lives of badgers. We already have plans to use the details we have on some of the more high profile supporters of the cull.’ Hack attack: The activists say they have had access to the NFU Mutual's database since May and have full financial details, claims and account history of their customers Protest: Brian May joins campaigners opposed to the badger cull gather outside the Department for Food and Rural Affairs earlier this month The claims by the anonymous hackers have yet to be verified and an NFU Mutual spokesman said the company has ‘very strong systems and controls in place’ to safeguard their data against hacking. He added that there was no sign of customers’ records being tampered with and that NFU Mutual is ‘entirely separate’ from the National Farmers’ Union. The badger cull started in bovine TB hotspot areas in Gloucestershire and Somerset on June 1 and, if successful in reducing bovine TB, will be rolled out more widely in a bid to stop the disease, which is spread between badgers and livestock and between cattle. The cull is designed to run for six weeks in order to kill at least 70 per cent of badgers in each area. In total about 5,000 animals will die. The Government said the cull is necessary as part of efforts to stop increasing outbreaks of TB in dairy and beef herds, which saw 28,000 cattle slaughtered in England last year. The push for a badger cull has been led by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who said called it an ' an important step towards taking the action we need to tackle the spread of this disease [Bovine TB] in wildlife. ’ _______________________________________________ Dataloss Mailing List (dataloss () datalossdb org) Archived at http://seclists.org/dataloss/ Unsubscribe at http://lists.osvdb.org/mailman/listinfo/dataloss Supporters: Risk Based Security (http://www.riskbasedsecurity.com/) Risk Based Security equips organizations with security intelligence, risk management services and on-demand security solutions to establish customized risk-based programs to address information security and compliance challenges.
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- Animal activists claim to have hacked into insurance company to steal financial data on badger cull supporters Erica Absetz (Jun 11)