Summary
Security experts at T-Mobile are investigating the recent instance of a hacker stealing information from Paris Hilton's Sidekick-II. The company advises its customers to change their passwords regularly and to use complex passwords that are harder for a hacker to guess. The company believes that someone who knew Ms. Hilton's password may have been the culprit in her case.
Original source:
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3484951
Details
Paris Hilton's phone numbers continued to be the hot search item on the Web Tuesday, as surfers hoped to get the phone numbers of dozens of Hollywood celebrities whose contact information was leaked courtesy of the socialite's hacked T-Mobile Sidekick II device.
The nature of the hack of Hilton's Sidekick II is currently under investigation, though T-Mobile said in a widely published statement that one of the possibilities was someone may have known Hilton's password.
Hilton's devices and/or knew her account password."
T-Mobile also told its Sidekick users to regularly change their passwords and use complex passwords to improve their own level of security.
Just yesterday, CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) issued a press release underscoring the importance of secure passwords for end users.
According to CompTIA research in 2004, 84 percent of the almost 900 organizations it surveyed blamed human error as being partially responsible for recent security breaches.
CompTIA said it recommends users maintaining four passwords for IT usage and that the password should include a combination of numbers, letters and punctuation marks.
Contact information from Hilton's address book was widely available early Tuesday, though by mid-afternoon most of the sites that had posted the information decided to pull it down for fear of legal repercussions.
"Sorry you couldn't enjoy the fun sooner.
hope this makes you realize [that] in the electronic age you are not safe from prying eyes.
Oh also Hi Paris!," one post said.
Other sites also denied they were the original source for the hacked information.
A weak password may not have necessarily been the lynchpin that leaked the amateur film starlet's Sidekick info. T-Mobile has been the victim of hacking infiltration before.
This past January, the wireless provider took action against an alleged hacker that had stolen Social Security numbers, account names and
passwords, and even digital photos taken by customers from its network.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as martial arts, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Sunday, March 06, 2005
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