back to article Fake IT admin tricked Cox rep into handing over customer database – cableco fined $600k

US broadband watchdog the FCC has fined Cox Communications $595,000 (£391,000, AU$832,000) after a Lizard Squad hacker swiped its customer records. The FCC announced the punishment on Thursday, ending an investigation into the 2014 security breach. The fine is the first such penalty the FCC has dished out against a US cable …

  1. David 132 Silver badge
    FAIL

    Silly cox.

    1. VinceH

      Bunch of coxwombles.

  2. Dadmin
    Thumb Up

    This Security Hole is now CLOSED!

    Thanks to the brave staff member who printed out a sign for the call-center that reads; "if eviljordie calls, just hang up"

    Problem solved! Let's go to lunch!

    1. Ole Juul

      Re: This Security Hole is now CLOSED!

      Have an upvote - that's just too funny! :)

  3. Danny 2

    Last night's nightmare

    I dreamed I was a sys admin about to be fired for a mistake beyond my ken that I hadn't anticipated. I was about to be blamed for something that wasn't my fault, and I felt terrified. Then I woke up relieved for moment or two realising it was just a bad dream, induced from reading too many articles here

    And then as I woke up I remembered I'd actually been blacklisted for the past fourteen years for no good reason, and yet I'd survived fairly happily since then. Intelligent people always survive anything we used to fear. It's not as bad as we imagine, at worst it's unfair punishment and we are used to that.

    My needy, fearful nightmares as a sys admin and higher back then were and are far more scary than the actuality. What is odd is I have faced the worst punishment you fear most, and far, far worse, but when I have anxiety nightmares I still worry subconsciously about daily backups, teenage hackers and commuting traffic jams. Those are life-long soul-killers

    Worry less. The best thing they can do you is sack you. You will survive, and might even prosper - but the fear is a constant.

  4. Mark 85
    Facepalm

    See icon.... this is incredible....

  5. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    So a fine of nearly £400k for token amounts of damage. Come on ICO, what's 1.2million worth?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And now imagine if the ISP database included internet history records for all those punters...

  7. Terry 6 Silver badge

    Procedures

    Unless there is something missing from this story, why would a call centre bod be allowed to interact in this way?

    Surely, when called by someone purporting to be from the IT dept.or anything else outside their normal role they are told to pass it to a manager to deal with.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Guessing they have more compliance training coming their way...

    Clearly what ever they may have for phishing isn't working...

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