On 20 January 2021, a non-profit organisation Oxfam Australia recently confirmed that the personal data of its supporters had been accessed in a cyber-attack earlier this year. The charity unit investigated the whole incident, as it could seriously affect its supporters and reputation as well.
The data primarily compromise names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, gender details, email, and other essential credentials. In some parts of the data, there are details about the history of donations and even partial credit card data were also illegally displayed. No password was tampered with.
The organization learned of the online data leak after the news website Bleeping Computer detected the stolen Charity database for sale on an underground hacking forum.
According to a recent report, Bleeping Computer said the stolen data contained contact details and donor information of 1.7 million people. However, the non-profit organization has not confirmed the exact number of people affected by the incident.
Later, Oxfam Australia said it began acquainting the victims on February 4’2021. In addition, they offered appropriate advice to their supporters to help them take appropriate action to protect their information.
In addition, the charity also stated that it initiated an investigation into the matter when, on January 27, Bleeping Computer notified the charity.
According to some media reports, Lyn Morgain Oxfam Australia CEO said: “During the course of the investigation, we have initiated communications asap and openly with our supporters, meanwhile conveying them the right regulatory steps. We beforehand contacted all our supporter base early last month to alert them about the suspected incident, which has now been confirmed.” The organization is trying its best ways to solve the whole scenario and to set up better security barriers to prevent such happenings.
Later during the interaction, she added- “Oxfam supporters are the heart of our organization, and their confidence is one of our priorities to gain while tackling the inequality that causes poverty all over the globe. We genuinely deplore this incident.
To resolve this issue as soon as possible, they contacted the relevant authorities, including the Australian Cybersecurity Centre and the Australian Information Commissioner’s Office. While putting light on the matter Jake Moore, cybersecurity specialist at internet security firm ESET said- “Non-profit organizations or Charities can often draw protection may not be their forte.”
Lastly, however, we are in a world where digital platforms are of the most useful, thus personal information is being stored on a site, and must be treated with the utmost protection with high-security barriers. Sensitive data such as this matter like leaks in dark web forums can have severe damaging consequences.
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