Comcast’s Xfinity disclosed a major security breach that impacted more than 36 million customers. The breach, occurring between October 16 and October 19, was traced back to a vulnerability in software used by the company, initially highlighted by cloud service provider Citrix on October 10.
Citrix, a widely used software provider, declared a vulnerability affecting Xfinity and numerous other global companies. Despite Citrix providing additional mitigation guidance on October 23, it wasn’t until October 25 that Xfinity discovered unauthorized access during a routine cybersecurity exercise, utilizing the earlier-identified vulnerability.
The investigation, detailed in a filing with the Maine Attorney General, revealed that nearly 35.9 million individuals were affected by the breach. While Xfinity has not confirmed a specific number, it acknowledged that the figure in the filing represents user IDs.
Xfinity’s scrutiny into the incident unveiled compromised customer information, including usernames, hashed passwords, legal names, contact details, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and security questions and answers. The company continues its investigation, leaving room for the possibility of additional compromised data.
In response to the breach, Xfinity is mandating customers to reset their account passwords and strongly recommending the adoption of two-factor authentication. Notably, the company did not mention offering complimentary credit monitoring services to impacted customers, a common practice in high-profile data breaches involving credit card information.
This security incident is not Xfinity’s first; in 2018, a discovery revealed that a Comcast site used to activate Xfinity routers was unintentionally sharing personal data, including home addresses, Wi-Fi network names, and passwords.
Customers seeking more information or with additional questions are encouraged to refer to Xfinity’s data breach incident report or directly reach out to the company. The breach, highlighting the importance of cybersecurity measures, emphasizes the need for users to avoid password reuse across multiple accounts and services.
