Guardian Jobs website hacked

The UK jobs website, Guardian Jobs, was hacked last night leaving a proportion of users data exposed.  The Metropolitan Police are investigating and for anyone that has been affected has been emailed with details and advise.

The Guardian have confirmed to TNW that the US site, guardianjobs.com, has not been affected and is independent of the UK operation.  The data is held on separate databases run by the third parties that operate the sites for the Guardian, Madgex and Indeed. In the UK, it’s run by Madgex and according to the Guardian, steps have been put in place to make sure a recurrence doesn’t happen.

We learned yesterday evening that the Guardian Jobs website has been targeted by a sophisticated and deliberate hack, which has breached the security of the data on the site. You have used the site to make one or more job applications and we believe your personal data, relating to those applications, may have been accessed.

The supplier who runs the site has identified the manner in which it was hacked and taken steps to prevent a recurrence.

Back in March, the Guardian Jobs UK passed the 2 million user figure mark, and with those users data compromised, it puts them at considerable risk of identity theft, including myself. The metropolitan police have recommended the following, for users who haven’t recieved their email as yet:

1) Contact your creditors, even if they have not been affected, so that they can monitor your accounts to ensure they remain protected.

2) Contact a credit reference agency: Callcredit, Equifax or Experian provide suggested steps to resolve the situation and prevent it happening again.

3) Contact CIFAS protective registration: If you think you have been a victim of identity theft you should consider subscribing to CIFAS. This places a notice on your credit file indicating that your name and address may be used to perpetrate identity fraud.

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The security of websites such as the Guardian Jobs and third parties involved continues to be questioned. It’s increasingly frustrating to hear of these breaches that will undoubtably affect consumer confidence online, in an already economically fragile environment.

If you would like to find out more about this breach, the Guardian have a dedicated page to keep you updated, find it here.