Identity Theft News

Cybercriminals hack Monster

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Monster.com, a nationally-recognized website for job placement, announced yesterday its database had been breached by hackers and that users' account and contact information had been compromised.

Though there is no word as to how many accounts were involved in the breach, the website did reveal the hackers had access to names, phone numbers, IDs and passwords, email addresses and basic demographic information.

Patrick Manzo, senior vice president for Monster Worldwide, wrote on the company's website users may be expected to change their passwords in the near future. He also warned cybercriminals may be sending out spam emails as a phishing attack and that the company does not send such messages.

Today, TimesOnline.com reported at least 4.5 million UK users were affected by the breach and called it the "largest data theft in Britain." Monster has not confirmed if British users were compromised in the attack. The company operates in 36 different countries.

Monster.com has been hit with similar attacks in the past, with the most recent reportedly occurring last July when the site was the focus of phishing emails, SCMagazineus.com reports. Many security experts predicted cybercriminals would increase their focus on job sites such as Monster.com due to the poor economy.