In a notice for its customers, Xfinity acknowledges it recently fell victim to a data security incident. Xfinity is Comcast’s brand for TV, internet, and home phone services, sometimes referred to as Comcast Cable Communications.

During the data breach the attackers were able to access 35.8 million customers’ usernames and hashed passwords. For some customers, other personal information may have been exposed, such as names, contact information, the last four digits of social security numbers, dates of birth, and secret questions combined with answers.

On October 25, 2023, Xfinity discovered suspicious activity and subsequently determined that between October 16 and 19 unauthorized access to its internal systems occured.

Xfinity says it notified federal law enforcement and started an investigation, which revealed the attackers had used the Citrix Bleed vulnerability. Affiliates of at least two ransomware groups, LockBit and Medusa, have been observed exploiting Citrix Bleed as part of attacks against organizations. Whether one of those affiliates was behind this attack is not known.

On October 10, 2023, Citrix released security updates to address Citrix Bleed, but many organizations struggle to patch in a timely manner. Although you would expect a large company like Comcast to have some type of vulnerability and patch management deployed.

The company is notifying customers through a variety of channels, including through the Xfinity website, email, and news media.

Xfinity has required customers to reset their passwords to protect affected accounts. In addition, Xfinity strongly recommends that customers enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication to secure their Xfinity account.

It is not advisable to use the same password for multiple accounts, but if you did, Xfinity recommends that you change the passwords for any accounts that share your Xfinity password.

Customers with questions can contact Xfinity’s dedicated call center at 888-799-2560 toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More information is available on the Xfinity website.

Data breach

There are some actions you can take if you are, or suspect you may have been, the victim of a data breach.

Protecting yourself from a data breach

There are some actions you can take if you are, or suspect you may have been, the victim of a data breach.

• Check the vendor’s advice. Every breach is different, so check with the vendor to find out what’s happened, and follow any specific advice they offer.
• Change your password. You can make a stolen password useless to thieves by changing it. Choose a strong password that you don’t use for anything else. Better yet, let a password manager choose one for you.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA). If you can, use a FIDO2-compliant hardware key, laptop or phone as your second factor. Some forms of two-factor authentication (2FA) can be phished just as easily as a password. 2FA that relies on a FIDO2 device can’t be phished.
• Watch out for fake vendors. The thieves may contact you posing as the vendor. Check the vendor website to see if they are contacting victims, and verify any contacts using a different communication channel.
• Take your time. Phishing attacks often impersonate people or brands you know, and use themes that require urgent attention, such as missed deliveries, account suspensions, and security alerts.
• Set up identity monitoring. Identity monitoring alerts you if your personal information is found being traded illegally online, and helps you recover after.

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