Wall Street Journal Subscriber Database Was Hacked

Dow Jones, the parent company of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has just released a statement that WSJ subscriber database was compromised by a hack. The company says that it has found evidence of unauthorized access to its systems but claims that it has not uncovered any direct evidence that information was stolen.

It looks like the attack is not nearly as widespread or damaging as other recent hacks have been and was mostly targeted at accessing subscribers contact information like names, addresses, email addresses and other similar data. While there is no direct evidence to support data was actually stolen, Dow Jones CEO William Lewis says that credit card information for about 3,500 customers “could have been accessed”. The company is also sending a letter to affected individuals with more information and steps to secure their account and financial data.

As part of the investigation to date, we also determined that payment card and contact information for fewer than 3,500 individuals could have been accessed, although we have discovered no direct evidence that information was stolen. We are sending those individuals a letter in the mail with more information about the support we are offering. If you do not receive such a letter, we have no indication that your financial information was involved.

According to Lewis statement, WSJ and Dow Jones are working with law enforcement as well as a leading cybersecurity firm to assist with the investigation. It also sounds like the focus of the hack was to obtain contact information such as names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of current and former subscribers in order to send fraudulent solicitations.

In addition, the company advices its users to call customer service at 1­800­JOURNAL (1­800­568­7625) to reports any suspicious activity related in their Dow Jones account. If you are calling from outside the United States, please use the applicable number available in the Contact Directory section of our Customer Center.

Those who may have had their accounts stolen or financial information compromised will be notified in writing from by the WSJ, so if you do not get a letter, you can assume your data is safe.

Source: Dow Jones