SANS ISC: Extreme Disclosure? Not yet but a great trend!

• SANS Site Network
  • Current Site
  • SANS Internet Storm Center
  • Other SANS Sites Help
  • Graduate Degree Programs
  • Security Training
  • Security Certification
  • Security Awareness Training
  • Penetration Testing
  • Industrial Control Systems
  • Cyber Defense Foundations
  • DFIR
  • Software Security
  • Government OnSite Training

SANS ISC InfoSec Forums

        There is a trend in vigilant disclosure by some companies and service providers. A reader wrote in with a great example of an email disclosure. U.S. Bank informed it's customers of a breach in a partners system. It went on to disclose that the partner system had been accessed by unauthorized users and that customer email addresses had been exposed.

         What stuck out for myself and other handlers that commented, was the way the disclosure was handled. U.S. Bank then clearly identified it's information disclosure policy. They followed on to inform customers that at no time was financial data disclosed and that only Epsilon's systems had been accessed.

         If you have had any disclosures from vendors please send them in to us. Packets are better but we take disclosures as well!

Below is the email that was relayed.

As a valued U.S. Bank customer, we want to make you aware of a situation that has occurred related to your email address.

We have been informed by Epsilon Interactive, a vendor based in Dallas, Texas, that files containing your email address were accessed by unauthorized entry into their computer system. Epsilon helps us send you emails about products and services that may be of interest to you.

We want to assure you that U.S. Bank has never provided Epsilon with financial information about you. For your security, however, we wanted to call this matter to your attention. We ask that you remain alert to any unusual or suspicious emails.

Please remember that U.S. Bank will never request information such as your personal ID, password, social security number, PIN or account number via email. For your safety, never share this or similar information in response to an email request at any time. To learn more about recognizing online fraud issues, visit:

http://www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/about/online_security/online_fraud.cfm

In addition, if you receive any suspicious looking emails, please tell us immediately.

Call U.S. Bank Customer Service at 800-US-BANKS (800-872-2657).

The security of your information is important to us, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. As always, if you have any questions, or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Update

Thanks to all of those that sent in their notifications. On the list so far: 

Best Buy, Home Depot, Chase, U.S. Bank, Robert Half, Disney Destinations, Citibank, Hilton Honors.  No doubt there will be more to come. 

-MH-

UPDATE 2

Epsilon in their press release mentions that only email addresses and names have been compromised for approximately 2 percent of their clients.  A quick calculation shows that is at least 50 organisations (over 2500 clients).  So a few more of you may be getting notifications.

Richard Porter

--- ISC Handler on Duty 

Can be reached:

Twitter: packetalien

Email: richard at isc dot sans dot edu