Summary of First American’s Cybersecurity Breach and Its Aftermaths
Key Points:
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First American suffered a cybersecurity breach on Dec. 20, causing the company to isolate some systems from the internet.
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Operations are making a steady but slow comeback as the company is adopting a “crawl, walk, then run” recovery approach.
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Concern mounts as it’s the “holiday season, the prime time for phishing scams and hackers.”
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Communication has been another pain point for First American; their systems for communicating with customers and staff were affected in the incident.
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Necessary “brownout” steps were taken to restrict access to systems to investigate and start recovery efforts.
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The company has employed several “nerdy knights in shiny armor” (a.k.a cybersecurity specialists) to tackle the problem.
Funny Take:
In my personal, funny-but-informative opinion, it seems like First American’s office has turned into an episode straight out of “CSI: Cyber”. Ah, the sweet melody of frantic keyboard clicking and desperate coffee sips. So scenic. To further add to their woes, the ‘Happy Holiday Season’ has been playing the role of an uninvited guest who shows up at the party and spikes the eggnog. Yup, hot on the heels of the festive season, hackers armed with candy cane-shaped phishing scams have decided that getting coal in their stockings is not enough fun.
First American has been playing digital hide-and-seek, isolating its systems from the Internet, basically acting like a concerned parent telling their kid, “No more online gaming for today, Johnny. There are scary hackers out there!” The company’s high-tech communications set up has also flipped the bird, adding to the fun. The whole scene makes you wonder whether they’re dealing with it like a disciplined SWAT team operation or a frantic episode of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner.
Lastly, let’s not forget the heroes. First American has indeed pressed the Batman signal onto Silicon Valley’s sky, successfully recruiting a team of nerdy knights in shiny armor, a.k.a cybersecurity specialists, who eat, sleep, and breathe codes and firewalls. But don’t worry – they’ve all promised not to say “I am Groot” while tackling the villains.
In conclusion, here’s the lesson learned – Santa Claus might forgive you for being naughty, but the digital world won’t. So folks, buckle-up and keep those firewalls high, set those passwords complex, don’t click on that “Win a free sleigh ride with Santa” email. Remember, not all holidays gifts are nice ones. Don’t let your festive season turn into a high-tech game of ‘Jingle All the way….to the nearest cybersecurity firm.’
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2023/12/28/title-insurer-first-american-back-online-after-cybersecurity-incident/
