Walmart Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 14, 2024
In January 2021, Walmart experienced a data breach due to a security flaw on their website, exposing customer information to unauthorized individuals. Another breach occurred recently, when an employee accessed Walmart's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. Additionally, a data breach at Merrill Lynch, which provides record keeping services for the Walmart 401(k) Retirement Plan, exposed personal information of Walmart 401(k) participants due to an email error made by a Merrill employee.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach at Merrill Lynch exposed personal information of approximately 1,883 Walmart 401(k) participants.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breaches included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers with routing numbers, order dates, order contents, methods of payment, last four digits of credit cards, and plaintext passwords.
How was Walmart hacked?
A Walmart employee breached the company's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. The breach occurred as the employee accessed colleagues' employment management accounts from September 2023 until March 2024. The specific methods used by the employee and any subsequent investigation findings remain unclear.
Walmart's solution
In response to the data breaches, Walmart took several measures to secure its systems and prevent future hacking incidents. These actions included launching investigations into the breaches, securing affected associate accounts, and reporting the former employee involved in the payroll fraud to law enforcement. Walmart also provided affected individuals with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. However, specific details about the removal of malware, enhancing security protocols, or working with cybersecurity experts remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Walmart reached out to affected users and provided them with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. If you believe you may have been affected by the Walmart data breaches but did not receive a notification, you can visit HaveIBeenPwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Walmart's data breach, please contact Walmart's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Walmart data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
Walmart Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 14, 2024
In January 2021, Walmart experienced a data breach due to a security flaw on their website, exposing customer information to unauthorized individuals. Another breach occurred recently, when an employee accessed Walmart's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. Additionally, a data breach at Merrill Lynch, which provides record keeping services for the Walmart 401(k) Retirement Plan, exposed personal information of Walmart 401(k) participants due to an email error made by a Merrill employee.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach at Merrill Lynch exposed personal information of approximately 1,883 Walmart 401(k) participants.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breaches included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers with routing numbers, order dates, order contents, methods of payment, last four digits of credit cards, and plaintext passwords.
How was Walmart hacked?
A Walmart employee breached the company's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. The breach occurred as the employee accessed colleagues' employment management accounts from September 2023 until March 2024. The specific methods used by the employee and any subsequent investigation findings remain unclear.
Walmart's solution
In response to the data breaches, Walmart took several measures to secure its systems and prevent future hacking incidents. These actions included launching investigations into the breaches, securing affected associate accounts, and reporting the former employee involved in the payroll fraud to law enforcement. Walmart also provided affected individuals with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. However, specific details about the removal of malware, enhancing security protocols, or working with cybersecurity experts remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Walmart reached out to affected users and provided them with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. If you believe you may have been affected by the Walmart data breaches but did not receive a notification, you can visit HaveIBeenPwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Walmart's data breach, please contact Walmart's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Walmart data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
Walmart Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 14, 2024
In January 2021, Walmart experienced a data breach due to a security flaw on their website, exposing customer information to unauthorized individuals. Another breach occurred recently, when an employee accessed Walmart's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. Additionally, a data breach at Merrill Lynch, which provides record keeping services for the Walmart 401(k) Retirement Plan, exposed personal information of Walmart 401(k) participants due to an email error made by a Merrill employee.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach at Merrill Lynch exposed personal information of approximately 1,883 Walmart 401(k) participants.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breaches included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers with routing numbers, order dates, order contents, methods of payment, last four digits of credit cards, and plaintext passwords.
How was Walmart hacked?
A Walmart employee breached the company's management system to commit payroll fraud, potentially exposing sensitive employee data. The breach occurred as the employee accessed colleagues' employment management accounts from September 2023 until March 2024. The specific methods used by the employee and any subsequent investigation findings remain unclear.
Walmart's solution
In response to the data breaches, Walmart took several measures to secure its systems and prevent future hacking incidents. These actions included launching investigations into the breaches, securing affected associate accounts, and reporting the former employee involved in the payroll fraud to law enforcement. Walmart also provided affected individuals with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. However, specific details about the removal of malware, enhancing security protocols, or working with cybersecurity experts remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Walmart reached out to affected users and provided them with complimentary identity monitoring services for two years. If you believe you may have been affected by the Walmart data breaches but did not receive a notification, you can visit HaveIBeenPwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Walmart's data breach, please contact Walmart's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Walmart data breach, check out the following news articles:
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