For all the media panic that ensued when Target’s credit card data breach happened this past Winter, it seems that we’re actually exposed to even identity theft dangers by way of our social media accounts and email passwords. In fact, new research has been published in a study called “Markets for Cybercrime Tools and Stolen Data” which reveals that because of these large scale credit card data breaches, the value of other ways to steal a person’s identity is more valuable. It makes sense when you think about it: When you hear your credit card info has been hacked, you’ll likely race to change your bank account passwords. Meanwhile, you put the concern about your social media and email passwords on the back burner. All the while, hackers are still working to get to your data, and if you’ve used the same passwords, or even similar variations of one, it’s not that tough to get into your other accounts.
In tandem with this news, Mashable published a list of the many accounts you should update, in the wake of Heartbleed, a bug thought to be one of the biggest online breaches yet. You can review the lengthy list on your own, but it would be prudent to update your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and Yahoo accounts starting now–especially if you tend to be not so clever with the variety of your passwords. Though Mashable’s list states that most banks report no vulnerabilities to Heartbleed, keep in mind that any similarities to your social media passwords that may have been exposed only sets you up for more potential risk.
