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.

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

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Stop spending so much money on your laptop
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED front angled view showing display and keyboard.

If you're in the market for a new laptop today, you'll encounter a dizzying array of options ranging in price from a few hundred dollars up to the low five figures. You'll find different build qualities, specifications, display types, and much more, all of which combine to make choosing the best laptop for you a challenge.

It's tempting to get mesmerized by the latest and greatest machines and end up spending a lot more than you need to or should. The thing is, there are legitimate reasons to spend less on a laptop in 2023, and trust me -- it hasn't always been this way.
You probably don't need more power
Asus ZenBook 14X OLED Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Read more
Malicious bots make up 73% of internet traffic, report says
italy agcom pirate anti piracy download bay software keyboard skull music cyber crime

In a concerning revelation by the fraud control platform Arkose Labs, about 73% of internet traffic to websites and apps that was analyzed between January and September 2023 has been attributed to bots engaging in malicious activities. This revelation sparks discussions about the significant drain on valuable resources caused by such nefarious actions.

The third quarter of 2023 witnessed the dominance of five primary categories of bad bot activities, including account takeover, scraping, fake account creation, account management, and in-product abuse. This is similar to the second quarter, with the notable exception of in-product abuse stepping in for card testing.

Read more
Best Apple deals: AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook
dell xps 15 vs macbook pro 16 apple ry 14 1200x9999

Apple products are praised for their high quality and interconnectivity, but that quality does come with a price. This is one large reason why we look for great Apple deals to shop, as it sometimes really is worth the wait. To help you out, we've compiled some of our favorite deals on all of the major categories of Apple products. Try these deals first next time you're looking to expand or upgrade your Apple collection.
Best iPad deals

Whether you're wanting to get a standard iPad, an iPad Air, or an iPad Mini, their is a sale on for you at the moment. If, however, one of the iPad Pro models is among the best iPads for you, don't worry too much about holding off. These deals are small, typically taking off around 10% of the price, and are more of a bonus if you already wanted the model rather than an incentive to choose it over something you really wanted. Meanwhile, if you're willing to go refurbished, our larger collection of the best iPad deals has larger deals and you can find an iPad Pro.

Read more