Club News: Adhering To The Highest Journalistic Standards
AKC BREEDER LISTINGS HACKED
AKC Breeder Listings were used to generate phishing attacks through fake puppy inquiries. How it worked and how to protect yourself from Privacy Sharks.
December 4, 2018 Barbara "BJ" Andrews, Editor-In-Chief, SAAB
A top Toy dog breeder who listed on the AKC Puppies For Sale Marketplace{1} first alerted us to the problem. She realized her email address had been hacked when she began getting “phisher emails” inquiring about puppies. She was concerned that they could have gotten her credit card information. We reassured her but later that day another person called to report he had been “hacked by AKC.” A deeper dig into my inbox revealed it wasn't just an isolated incident.
The American Kennel Club can afford the
best in spam and intellectual theft protection so this was a new twist. I called
and left an "urgent" message.
I called AKC again, repeatedly… Left multiple messages for the two AKC people who had sent the “reassurance” email (see copy below). Jim Crowley, previous AKC Secretary always returned my calls. Current Secretary Gina DiNardo is no less efficient. Finally, the next day, Brandi Hunter, Vice President, Public Relations and Communications called me back.
She was absolutely clear. “AKC has not been hacked.” I repeated what we had learned from subscribers, all of whom had been contacted by people who mentioned “the AKC website” or “AKC breeders”. She repeated the five words. Okay, I know Brandi to be highly intelligent and otherwise conversant. I get it. To admit to the press that AKC services could in any way be compromised would not be good for business.
The American Kennel Club is a prize target for what is so common today that we've renamed them Privacy Sharks. They surf the net in "schools" using sophisticated technology. It may be impossible to protect yourself from the many ruses used by privacy thieves but here is some cautionary advice:
Protecting your online financial information and accounts is obviously of critical importance. For communication with your bank and other financial entities, use a dedicated email address, in other words, only the bank or your credit card company has it. Then monitor your accounts frequently because your financial records are not invulnerable. IBM sponsored a Data Breach study which reported the “global average cost of a data breach is up 6.4 percent over the previous year to $3.86 million.”
Here is a shocking and precedent-setting example of legal privacy invasion. While you were sleeping, on November 25th, the British Parliament seized internal facebook documents{2}. The implications to personal privacy are staggering.
We’ve been told even a Government entity needs a warrant to seize and search you or your personal effects. That is not always true. A foreign country recently hired a California firm to obtain documents and records even though the state of California “ordered the material to be kept under seal.” Some news commentators considered this as victory for “freedom of the press” but we see it as the end of personal privacy.
If you have a website, you should be able to set up several separate email addys. Call your hosting company, call our office or email us about hosting your website, providing multiple email addresses, and protecting your privacy.
Here is a copy of the defusing/reassuring email AKC sent out. It is good advice.
Reference Information: (offsite links, copy and paste URL in your browser) {1} AKC MarketPlace - https://marketplace.akc.org/puppies
{2} British Parliament seizes Facebook documents - https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/24/us/six4three-facebook-uk-parliament/index.html TheDogPress.com EST 2002 © 1812 https://www.thedogpress.com/ClubNews/AKC-breeder-listings-hacked-b18A12.asp SSI
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