Irish hosting company suffers data breach, encourages password updates

Cyberattacks are not restricted to any country in particular and can have a negative effect on consumers and businesses worldwide. For example, Irish hosting company Blacknight recently announced it suffered an online security breach that may have impacted up to 40,000 customers.

The business said the incident occurred on January 31 and was caused by an external source. At this time, no financial data is believed to have been compromised and the damages are not considered to be extensive.

However, Blacknight encouraged its users to update passwords to prevent subsequent incidents, as well as be alert regarding suspicious online account activity.

"Data breaches are a reality that almost every online company must face," said Blacknight spokeswoman Michele Neylon. "We are taking this opportunity to increase our security even further and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause."

The proliferation of cyberattacks may be growing on a global scale, but companies with password manager software can increase their defenses and avoid recycling common passwords. These solutions also safely store personal data in an encrypted database and allow employees to take this information with them on the go.