Tech & Biz

Monster.Com Suffers Data Theft, Doesn't Email Users

by Jordan Yerman | January 25, 2009 at 12:48 pm

172 views | 33 Recommendations | 6 comments

Job-search site Monster.com suffered another incident of data theft, but, for some reason, has chosen not to actively inform its users. They posted a notice on the main site, but that's only useful for informing users who visit daily.

What if you just got a job last week? Someone could be snaking your identity and you'd not know.

If there was ever a time for a big ol' email blast, this is it. If you use Monster, open up your an account in a new tab right this second, change your password, and then come back and continue reading this story.

The break-in comes just as the swelling ranks of the unemployed are turning to sites like Monster.com to look for work.

The company disclosed on its Web site that it recently learned its database had been illegally accessed. Monster.com user IDs and passwords were stolen, along with names, e-mail addresses, birth dates, gender, ethnicity, and in some cases, users' states of residence. The information does not include Social Security numbers, which Monster.com said it doesn't collect, or resumes.

When I finish using a site and I know I won't be using it for a long time, I change all of my personal data, including misspelling my own name. That way, should something like the theft described above take place, someone can call themselves jrodan of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and say their phone number is 555-GOT-PORN all they want, and it's no skin off my back.

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Jennings David L

at 13:09 on January 25th, 2009

Just what someone who is out of a job needs - identity theft.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 17:25 on January 25th, 2009

Thanks for this story, Jordan!

Pythiian1

at 19:15 on January 25th, 2009

Great alert and thanks, Jordan. It's been several years since I last used Monster.com so hopefully, by now, my data would have been purged?

158

at 19:50 on January 25th, 2009

Thanks for the alert. I have never even looked at the site and now probably never will.

nyctuber

at 21:22 on January 25th, 2009

Add this story to the multitude of data breaches and the recent report of researchers circumventing 'secure site' MD5 algorythm http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13200CUXYQ8C.

generaldecay

at 23:11 on January 26th, 2009

I just had an IT security briefing at my new place of work yesterday and we were laughing about this kind of thing. It's not funny at all, of course, but you have to laugh sometimes.