Skip to main content

Time Warner Cable says 320K customer passwords at risk after suspected hack

great news for job seekers in 2016 especially if youre tech programmer
Scyther5 / Shutterstock
Eight days into 2016 and we’re already hearing news of the year’s first serious online security breach.

The unfortunate company at the center of the incident is Time Warner Cable (TWC), which says that up to 320,000 of its customers “may” have had their emails and passwords stolen, according to Reuters.

Related Videos

The telecommunications giant says the FBI informed it of the apparent breach. As a precaution, the company is now contacting affected customers to advise them to change their account passwords.

Details on the incident are sketchy at the current time, with TWC unable to explain how the data was stolen. At this stage the company is only saying it was nabbed either using malware inadvertently downloaded during phishing attacks, or through hacks on other companies that hold TWC customer data. In other words, the company doesn’t believe its own servers were compromised.

But however it happened, it’s still lousy news for 320,000 TWC customers.

Such stolen data often ends up being sold on the dark Web, as TWC rival Comcast recently discovered.

The company in November reset the passwords of hundreds of thousands of its customers when it discovered that their account details were being sold on an illicit online marketplace.

Any security breach is a major embarrassment for a targeted company, but with hackers become increasingly skillful, it’s becoming ever trickier for firms to protect their data, though past breaches have shown that some can clearly make a lot more effort.

Barring a miracle, it’s certain that 2016 will see plenty more incidents like TWC’s, so brace yourselves. And do what you can yourself by managing your passwords in the most effective way possible and keeping your antivirus software up to date.

Editors' Recommendations

Time Warner Cable, AT&T lose yet another battle against Google Fiber
Fiber TV box

Making legal attempts to keep Google Fiber from expanding to Louisville, Kentucky, Time Warner Cable and AT&T recently joined forces to actively campaign against a plan that would open the door for Google Fiber. Of course, both companies would be in direct competition with Google, assuming Google Fiber rolls out in Louisville in the near future.

Specifically, legal representatives of both companies were attempting to prevent Google, and other high speed Internet providers, from accessing city-owned utility poles. This tactic didn't work though. The city council voted unanimously to provide Google with access and allow the Google Fiber representatives to run fiber-optic cable capable of delivering gigabit speeds around the city.

Read more
Time Warner wants pay TV customers to be able to binge watch shows
tracking

Sounds like Time Warner is planning to take a page from its cord-cutting competitor Netflix. Bloomberg reports that the cable TV provider is in the process of making full seasons of “more shows” available on demand to its pay TV subscribers, citing a statement from Chief Financial Officer Howard Averill. Furthermore, Time Warner-owned networks like TNT and TBS have told Hollywood studios that “stacking rights,” or the option to air entire seasons of shows, are a priority for shows they buy.

“You are starting to see momentum,” said Averill at a press conference in Las Vegas last week. “We have to continue to move along that path to make sure we provide the consumer what they’re looking for.”

Read more
Time Warner Cable is tempting cord-cutters with Roku 3-delivered Internet TV plans

Streaming is often seen as a threat to cable providers, but Time Warner Cable has decided to see how the two services can help one another. As part of a new Roku TV beta service that launched Tuesday, Time Warner Cable is offering Internet-only customers in New York City access to its programming content over a Roku 3 set-top box, reports Ars Technica.

There are currently three plans from which beta testers can choose: Starter TV, which costs $10 per month and includes basic channels such as ABC, NBC, Fox, and over 20 more; Starter TV plus Showtime and Starz for $20 per month; and a bundle of 70+ channels, including Showtime and Starz, for $50 per month. Users do have to sign a 12-month contract, but Time Warner Cable will provide the Roku 3 device that cuts out the need for a cable box.

Read more