Dell suffers security breach, resets clients' passwords (but has not explained to customers why until now)

The computer manufacturer Dell said it discovered earlier this month that hackers had breached its security and tried to access customer information, including names, email addresses and hashed pbadwords. 19659003] Affected sites include Dell.com, Premier, Global Portal and support.dell.com ("Support"), but it is important to note that there is no reason to believe that the information customers were consulted. 19659003]

On November 9, 2018, Dell detected and disrupted an unauthorized activity on our network that was attempting to retrieve Dell.com customer information, limited to names, email addresses, and words chopped. Upon detection, we immediately implemented countermeasures and opened an investigation. We also retained the services of a digital investigation firm to conduct an independent investigation and hired law enforcement agencies.

The attack, reportedly detected on Friday, November 9, 2018, was reportedly "disturbed" by Dell's security team. Nevertheless, as reported Reuters when Dell reset the pbadwords of its customers five days later, "as a precaution," he did not reveal that he had taken the plunge, because he had been targeted by hackers.

What also needs to be communicated is the importance of making sure you never reuse the same pbadword on multiple websites. If a hacker manages to steal a pbadword from an offending website, he will first try to use that same pbadword on other websites to try to unlock your other online accounts.

One tip I can give you is to always use strong, unique pbadwords and store them securely in a pbadword management program.

To learn more about pbadword security, you can do worse than listen to this episode of "Smashing Security" podcast: