A breach of Comcast's user emails prompted the company to reset more than 200,000 accounts, according to The Verge. The hack was discovered when the company found that the passwords and user information of approximately 590,000 accounts were up for sale on a dark web marketplace for $1,000.
Although it is still unclear how the breach occurred, Comcast claims that it was not the result of any of their apps or systems being compromised. Furthermore, approximately 60 percent of the account information was for inactive accounts, according to Consumerist.
Comcast claims that the at-risk accounts did not have any of their information released to the public and each customer will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The most likely causes of the hack are phishing and malware methods, according to CSO Online. In addition, the inactive account information likely stemmed from previous data breaches that have gone public.
The hacking of Comcast accounts through methods that do not target the company's apps or systems is not new - Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had his personal account hacked by a small group of hackers last month - according to NBC News.
"What happened was, somebody called Comcast posing as me and gained access to parts of my account in my house and a phone I never use," said Johnson. "That's an issue I'm taking up with Comcast."
