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ABC and Business Insider and others are reporting that
Hackers broke into a database of images of travellers and licence plates collected by US Customs and Border Protection, the agency said on Monday.
The hackers gained access to the images through a subcontractor's network, CBP said. The subcontractor, which the agency declined to name, had transferred the photographs to its network in violation of CBP policies"
The CBP makes extensive use of cameras and video recordings at airports and land border crossings, where images of vehicles are captured. Those images are used as part of a growing agency facial-recognition program designed to track the identity of people entering and exiting the US.
The CBP said airport operations were not affected by the breach, but it declined to say how many people might have had their images stolen.
The Sydney Morning Herald has further details
A CBP statement said that the agency learnt of the breach on May 31 and that none of the image data had been identified "on the dark web or internet."
But reporters at The Register, reported late last month that a large haul of breached data from the firm Perceptics was being offered as a free download on the dark web.
The CBP would not say which subcontractor was involved. But a Microsoft Word document of the agency's public statement, sent on Monday to Washington Post reporters, included the name "Perceptics" in the title: CBP Perceptics Public Statement.
Perceptics representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CBP spokeswoman Jackie Wren said she was "unable to confirm" whether Perceptics was the source of the breach.
Pay peanuts, get monkeys... but this is government contracting, so pay lots and lots of peanuts, get... much bigger monkeys?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:37PM (6 children)
Alternatively, a private corporation fucked us yet again.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:58PM (2 children)
They could say they were cost saving. Trying to save US taxpayer money1.
They thought if CBP's network was secure enough for these images, then their own corporate network must be secure enough also.
What possible consequences have there ever been? Or will there be for this instance?
None? Then expect the same to continue happening.
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1so they could keep the savings for themselves
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 12 2019, @06:06AM (1 child)
Why would images be stored in cleartext? Just encrypt the data before storing it. Are these people that stupid?
I bet they store their passwords in a text file named "passwords.txt"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 12 2019, @12:56PM
I would venture a guess that passwords.txt has only five characters in it, which are all digits.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday June 11 2019, @09:37PM (2 children)
Why was a private company involved at all?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday June 11 2019, @10:57PM
Why do you hate capitalism?
Being at the receiving end of a deep state of fuckery is not a reason, what are you, a commie?
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 12 2019, @01:28AM
> Why was a private company involved at all?
Damn Republicans, fired all the analysts to "save taxpayer money", had to hire them back for more money as contractors.