Essay on Adult Friend Finder Security Breach

Introduction

In October 2016, accounts up to a magnitude of 412.2 million were compromised relating to FriendFinder Network. The site that deals with casual hookups and adult content websites was threatened by the release of up to twenty years of information. The breach included the collection of information about the names of clients, email addresses, and passwords. According to Peterson (2016), this was embarrassing to the clients and a blow to the organization. To should have been deployed to ensure that the Friend Finder breach was mitigated. It is essential to provide the most critical platform that enhances the disposition of organizational asset protection.

Adult Friend Finder Breach

Storm (2016) stipulates that a breach that targeted an adult dating and entertainment organization FriendFinder did critical damage by exposing 412 million accounts. This could be the most significant attack ever made on many accounts in history. The hack was done by a group that is involved in the collection of stolen data. The California based firm has critically suffered under the attack that was directed in its six databases. Described as the world’s largest sex and swinger community, it is typical that the clients have suffered a blow to see their content circulating in the online platform. It is shocking to see even clients who had their accounts deleted complaining of the effects of the hack. The compromise contributed to distinct inclinations that are experienced by both the organization and the individual clients.

The breach constituted various damages that affected other sites that are owned by the company. The organization has other network platforms that were affected, and other accounts also exposed. It is critical to understand that this was a breach that took place barely within two years. In 2015, the company had experienced a security breach, which had affected nearly 3.5 million accounts. This breach was minor compared to the development that was experienced in the year 2016. The twit that was posted by 1×023 went ahead to inform the online platform on the exploitation that was existing in the Adult FriendFinder. The response of such a threat receiving critical response was communicated with AFF Vice President Diana Ballou. An account holder by the name Revolver on Twitter was blamed on the hack, which they denied.

Failures of the Organization that led into the attack

It is assumed that hackers must have used the Local File Inclusion flaws to gain access to the millions of accounts that were hacked into by the organization. Technically, this provides a relevant explanation to the disposition which warranted access to information. The firm had been patching vulnerabilities at the occurrence of the breach. The incident is believed to have taken place due to the attribute of weak protection of passwords by the SHA-1 hashing algorithm. Storm (2016) indicates that the breach will be the largest in history for the number of accounts compromised if the numbers are correct. The security breach about this context can be aligned with the measure of malicious attacks. It is essential to understand that the reasons behind the breach are inclined to the attribute of financial gain. Through stealing data, perpetrators tend to siphon money from organizations and individuals. The characteristic of hacktivism is inclined to be less harmful in the hierarchy of breaching. When information is hacked for political gains, it is considered to be less dangerous compared to the financial motives of making hacks.

The organization can be blamed for the lack of awareness of the developing vulnerability that was building up, which contributed to the security breach that took place in mid-October of 2016. The firm must have fallen under prey due to the inclination of not being aware of the developments that were gracing the industry based on the stipulation of password protection. It is critical to understand the framework of encrypting passwords and providing passwords that are strong to buffer any impending threat. The precision of leaving things outdated must be another attribute that could have contributed to the stance of making the firm experience the blow sired by the breach. It is critical to provide critical support measures that are inclined to provide protection when it comes to security measures.

Mitigation Measures that could have Stopped the Attack

The firm could have deployed the use of an automated system that updates its encryption proliferations from time to time. By updating the system, trending technologies and security details are incorporated into the system that ensures the management of vulnerabilities. According to Leyden (2016), the use of strong security systems ensures the development of protection from hackers and crackers that could compromise the functionality of the firm. It is essential to understand that through the disposition of providing proper security details, the organization will realize the development of critical protection from attackers. The breach could also be mitigated by the placement of conducting regular inspections of the operative measures of the types of equipment and the network of the firm. It is essential to ensure that the firm is protected from perpetrators who eye the organization’s information by developing a software system that spots threats and reports them before they occur.

Through the revelation gotten from the breach, the site is attributed to keeping client information even after clients delete their accounts. A user reportedly claimed this to be true when their name kept appearing in the leaked sheets even after deleting their account. This was characterized by the measure of getting a targeted spasm email after the incident of the leak occurred. The need to include a strong password is essential when it comes to the protection of a site. It is also advisable to deploy the use of different passwords on different sites for security proliferations. If the firm had deployed the use of strong passwords to protect its site, it could not have experienced the stance of easy compromise and exposure of information to the rest of the world. The attribute of deleting accounts that are no longer in use is critical, and this must be put to practice with every firm. When a user deletes their account, the firm must remove such a user from their database for fluency of operation.

When defining the protective measures that can be deployed to ensure that an organization’s network is protected from hackers and crackers, it is essential to understand the need for creating awareness of a threat. The online space is characterized by the rise of threats that take place every day. With the inclusion of the protective measures that have been discussed above, the firm should have deployed the use of a system that monitors the exposure of the firm to threats (Mishra, 2019). When a firm is aware of the impending attacks, it is inclined to prepare proactive measures that are normed to protect such a firm. Adult FriendFinder should have deployed this strategy due to the nature of the information that it handles. Dealing with confidential information stipulates the attributes of taking into account the consideration of critical protective paradigms. The first thing the company ought to have done is to accord its clients’ information first security priority. By this observation, maybe the firm could not have experienced such loss.

The Consequences of the Security Breach

A security breach is a stipulation that is normed to cause many distinct problems. To the organization, incident response cost and other impalpable costs are experienced in the event of trying to rectify the mistake. The perpetrators can quickly attack the small businesses; the organizations are characterized by the disposition of facing problematic cash flows. This makes it challenging to keep up with the trends. Technically the adoption of improvised security details becomes difficult due to the attribute of operating under credit. Large businesses are inclined to suffer considerable losses in the event of a security breach. FriendFinder is an example of a large organization that suffered the loss of critical information, which characterized the attribute of other significant consequences. The aftermath of the breach affected the firm’s operations critically, as indicated throughout the article.

The firm suffered a critical loss of customers. This could be the most harmful consequences that the firm experienced. The inclination of conducting business with a company that has been breached becomes difficult. Customer trust is lost through the disposition of losing reputation. When the customer loses confidence in a firm, the revenue collected is affected; this, in turn, affects the operations of the business grossly. McDaniel (2019) says the disposition of creating customer confidentiality characterizes businesses. If customers cannot trust your activities, even the competitive ability is affected. Hackers are critically inclined to take the information that belongs to the customers or about trading, pricing, or even market strategy, among others. It is essential to understand that the firm is inclined to provide security details when it comes to online platforms to protect its commercial stipulations.

Conclusion

The massive breach that is discussed above shows the vulnerability that comes with the inculcation of cyber technology. Networks require maximum protection to create trust with the clients. No individual will want to associate their set of data with an organization that is vulnerable to attacks. The sophistication that comes with technology commands the need for critical protection, as observed in the paper. Were it that the organization deployed the trending security proliferation, the attack could have been realized, a stance that would have encourages the disposition of creating the required safety. The world is defined by critical developments when it comes to the attribute of embracing technology. The emerging security threats need crucial measures that are inclined to protect commercialization. It is essential to engage the perpetrators in punitive measures to discourage the attribute of cyber attacks as well.

References

Leyden, J. (2016). Adult FriendFinder users get their privates exposed… again. Retrieved from https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/14/adultfriendfinder_alleged_leak/

McDaniel, D. (2019). Data Breaches: Who is behind them, why they do it, and how to protect your data David McDaniel East Carolina University. Retrieved from http://www.infosecwriters.com/Papers/dmcdaniel_databreaches.pdf

Mishra, V. K. (2019). Cyber Security in the Blockchain-Based System. CYBERNOMICS, 1(1), 13-15. Retrieved from http://www.cybernomics.in/index.php/cnm/article/view/8

Peterson, A. (2016). Adult FriendFinder hit with one of the most significant data breaches ever, report says. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/11/14/adult-friendfinder-hit-with-one-of-the-biggest-data-breaches-ever-report-says/

Storm, D. (2016). Biggest hack of 2016: 412 million FriendFinder networks accounts exposed. https://www.computerworld.com/article/3141290/biggest-hack-of-2016-412-million-friendfinder-network-accounts-exposed.html