Customer.io Breach Surpasses That of OpenSea

The OpenSea data breach made waves throughout the digital security industry earlier this year, spurring a sector-wide siren call to improve digital protections safeguarding networks, computers, and web-connected devices. That siren call proved insufficient as Customer.io has suffered a massive email data breach. It appears as though this breach is larger than that suffered by OpenSea. Let's take a look at how the breach occurred.

What are the Details of the Breach?

A Customer.io employee intentionally leaked the email addresses of half a dozen businesses, including the contact details of millions of people. The company promptly fired the employee in question. It merely took one criminal working for an email delivery vendor to cause the leak. The engineer shifted the email-related data to an external party.

How Many Total Emails Were Compromised?

The company has not yet disclosed the number of emails and related information stolen by hackers. However, compromised emails are now much more likely to be subjected to phishing attacks in an attempt to capitalize on the stolen information, steal even more data, and generate revenue for the miscreants behind the web-based aggression.

How Did Customer.io React to the Breach?

Customer.io refused to name the companies compromised in the breach. Nor did the business's representatives give any indication as to the sectors in which those businesses operated. However, the entities whose data was improperly accessed are now aware of the breach. The company also issued a statement indicating a single bad actor compromised the email addresses of five accounts.

Customer.io also retained an undisclosed third party to conduct an investigation. The investigation did not reveal evidence of compromised email accounts. However, as of the time of this publication, it is not clear if that investigation is complete.

The Customer.io spokesperson responsible for public relations with media and customers indicated it enhanced its intrusion detection system and "immutable logging" to clarify communication about data exfiltration. Customer.io also reduced employee access to specific in-house systems with sensitive data, reviewed authorization keys, and reviewed boot access.

What is the Key Takeaway From the Breach?

The most important thing to learn from the data breach described above is the fact that insiders have the potential to sabotage an employer for a multitude of reasons. In fact, a Verizon digital security analysis of recent data breaches states that one in five digital security incidents result from an insider sabotaging the entity. Furthermore, the cost of such in-house breaches has jumped nearly 50% in the previous two years.

Aside from thoroughly vetting candidates for in-house positions, the company is also advising businesses to heighten their digital protections against external threats. If you own or manage a business, it is in your interest to update your cyber, computer, and network security barriers against emerging threats. Reinforce those updates with clear channels of communication to detail emerging threats, and your business will operate like a well-oiled machine that ultimately stands a chance of maximizing its potential. Companies are also encouraged to provide employees with cyber security refresher courses that provide all the latest updates from the world of digital security.