What happened in the Viewfines data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In May 2018, the South African website ViewFines, which allows users to view their traffic fines online, experienced a data breach. The incident led to an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency (SSA). The company that owns ViewFines, Aggregated Payment System (Pty) Ltd (APS), confirmed that they were implementing security measures to improve the website.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 778,000 individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included email addresses, government issued IDs, names, passwords, and phone numbers.
How was Viewfines hacked?
The ViewFines data breach occurred when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the website's security. The exact method of infiltration remains undisclosed, but the incident prompted an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency. In response, ViewFines implemented security measures to improve the website and prevent future breaches.
Viewfines's solution
In response to the hacking incident, ViewFines took immediate action to enhance the security of their platform and prevent future breaches. They suspended their service, notified users about the breach via email, and began implementing security measures to improve the website. To address the issue of plaintext passwords, ViewFines changed all passwords on the system and worked on encrypting them. Additionally, they took steps to improve the overall security of the website, ensuring that users' personal information would be better protected moving forward.
How do I know if I was affected?
ViewFines notified users believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a ViewFines user and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account and any other important online accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For specific advice on ViewFines's data breach, reach out to their support team by visiting their Contact page.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the ViewFines data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Viewfines data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In May 2018, the South African website ViewFines, which allows users to view their traffic fines online, experienced a data breach. The incident led to an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency (SSA). The company that owns ViewFines, Aggregated Payment System (Pty) Ltd (APS), confirmed that they were implementing security measures to improve the website.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 778,000 individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included email addresses, government issued IDs, names, passwords, and phone numbers.
How was Viewfines hacked?
The ViewFines data breach occurred when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the website's security. The exact method of infiltration remains undisclosed, but the incident prompted an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency. In response, ViewFines implemented security measures to improve the website and prevent future breaches.
Viewfines's solution
In response to the hacking incident, ViewFines took immediate action to enhance the security of their platform and prevent future breaches. They suspended their service, notified users about the breach via email, and began implementing security measures to improve the website. To address the issue of plaintext passwords, ViewFines changed all passwords on the system and worked on encrypting them. Additionally, they took steps to improve the overall security of the website, ensuring that users' personal information would be better protected moving forward.
How do I know if I was affected?
ViewFines notified users believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a ViewFines user and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account and any other important online accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For specific advice on ViewFines's data breach, reach out to their support team by visiting their Contact page.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the ViewFines data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Viewfines data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In May 2018, the South African website ViewFines, which allows users to view their traffic fines online, experienced a data breach. The incident led to an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency (SSA). The company that owns ViewFines, Aggregated Payment System (Pty) Ltd (APS), confirmed that they were implementing security measures to improve the website.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 778,000 individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included email addresses, government issued IDs, names, passwords, and phone numbers.
How was Viewfines hacked?
The ViewFines data breach occurred when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the website's security. The exact method of infiltration remains undisclosed, but the incident prompted an investigation by the Hawks' cybercrime unit and the State Security Agency. In response, ViewFines implemented security measures to improve the website and prevent future breaches.
Viewfines's solution
In response to the hacking incident, ViewFines took immediate action to enhance the security of their platform and prevent future breaches. They suspended their service, notified users about the breach via email, and began implementing security measures to improve the website. To address the issue of plaintext passwords, ViewFines changed all passwords on the system and worked on encrypting them. Additionally, they took steps to improve the overall security of the website, ensuring that users' personal information would be better protected moving forward.
How do I know if I was affected?
ViewFines notified users believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a ViewFines user and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account and any other important online accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For specific advice on ViewFines's data breach, reach out to their support team by visiting their Contact page.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the ViewFines data breach, check out the following news articles:
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