This Cable Company Just Got Fined By The FCC For Getting Hacked

In what appears to be an industry first, the Federal Communications Commission fined Cox Communications, a privately owned digital cable television, telecommunications and Home Automation provider, $595,000 after its systems were breached by a group of hackers. The group of hackers are believed to be part of Lizard Squad, the group behind breaches at Sony and Microsoft's Xbox Live. The hackers were able to pose as IT administrations and deceive Cox employees into providing them with login credentials which gave them access to sensitive customer information. The Washington Post

that the hackers were able to retrieve "partial" Social Security numbers and drivers licences. As many as 61 current or former Cox customers were affected by the breach which took place between August 7 and August 14 of 2014. The hackers altered 28 of these customers' passwords which essentially barred them from accessing their own account. In addition, eight people's personal information were posted across social media sites. Cox acknowledged the data breach in a statement on Thursday. "We take our responsibility to protect our customers' personal information very seriously," the company said. "While we regret that this incident occurred, our information security program ensured that we were able to react quickly and limit the incident.… We will continue to enhance our privacy and information security programs to protect the personal information that is entrusted to us."