Who uses GoDaddy? – Why you should be concerned
There is the danger of going digital nowadays. It doesn’t end with private databases getting leaked. Recently the victims are Hosting and Registrar companies like Godaddy. It is as if the pie for cybercriminal activities will never be enough. Now pay attention to what you are about to read next.
Hot item for the past few days in the cyber world is the news of the leakage of information on the prominent hosting company – GoDaddy. Providing hosting service for millions of websites on the internet, they are now facing a critical problem with the perceived lousy system security on the news.
According to the news, almost 19 million customers are on the risk of potential identity theft breached aside from possible website infiltration. It means that account holder information has been compromised, including other sensitive data that is filled on their subscription. Websites, on the other hand, especially those doing online transactions, may be redirected to pages that hackers have full control that can steal customer information, including bank details. Reputation damage, as well as financial loss, is evidently to be expected because of this chaos within GoDaddy.
Analysis: How it happened
An in-depth analysis of this turbulence confirmed that the rupture has begun since October of last year. The report confirmed that the issue started with a single attack from an unknown fraudster. Then suspicious behavior has been seen on many accounts afterward. Once the fraudster gains access to the account, it gives the attacker a chance to compromise the secure-shell protocol of the GoDaddy system. This protocol is a vital program that is used for internet services to communicate remote computers and servers. Thus, getting this hacked would mean business to any hackers. On the other hand, GoDaddy, on their released report, said that the infection did not reach any of their main accounts. But they failed to confirm these ‘ main accounts’ on the hierarchy of their service subscription.
Cybersecurity experts praised GoDaddy for their business as usual approach amidst of this transgression. Although reports confirmed several breached accounts maliciously created subdomains that redirect to infringing sites last year, the company was able to ensure that this issue will not create any panic to the cyberworld community. Godaddy was able to silently mitigate plans for their brand protection to appease their customer by providing express anti-malware removal and website security at no cost for one year.
However, they condemnation rained down on them for their weak security protocol as a hosting and domain registrar company. The free service is not a solution to the catastrophic situation that they are facing but a little damage control for the business and its reputation. Currently, the company is still gauging the extent of the impairment through a continuous investigation of this matter.
