by Search Copywriter
D. Warburton
D. Warburton
A sophisticated hacking attack has put users of the Guardian's jobs website at risk.The Guardian reports that up to half a million users of its UK recruitment website were targeted on Friday night by hackers looking to steal personal details. A spokesperson confirmed that the attack was stopped before it was completed, and the site e-mailed users who may have been at risk to explain: "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."
Technical details of the hack are not available as the case is being investigated by Scotland Yard's central e-crime unit, however users have been informed that their account details and financial information were not accessed. Data that may have been compromised includes users' names and e-mail addresses along with covering letters and CVs submitted to the website. This data is reportedly stored in third-party servers operated by Madgex.
The Guardian spokesperson stated: "As soon as we were alerted to the fact that there was a problem, we dealt with it, in line with the information commissioner's guidance on data protection.
"We felt it was important to be transparent and alert our users as soon as possible."
The Guardian has recommended security considerations for users, including contacting a credit reference agency or signing up to fraud prevention service Cifas, which costs £12 - a price many of the website's users may be unwilling to pay.
Although job websites are often targeted by hackers due to the amount of personal details hosted within, the Guardian still recommends job sites over the less secure options of circulating CVs directly with employers or posting them elsewhere on the internet.
