What does it take to prepare a data center to remain functional during a natural disaster? According to two executives, it takes a village.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the US experienced 28 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters last year, an unprecedented milestone that surpassed 2020’s record number of 22 disasters.

However, there are no days off for the more than 5,000 data centers that occupy the nation. For this reason, two executives told IT Brew that they are constantly gearing up their data centers to withstand natural disasters that come their way.

Head start. Jenny Gerson, senior director of sustainability at colocation data center provider DataBank, told IT Brew that preparation for potential natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton begins years in advance at the inception of a new facility.

Read the rest here.—BM

Hackers stole extensive personal information, including Social Security numbers, from over 237,000 Comcast customers in a breach of a third-party debt collector, TechCrunch reported.

The breach affects Comcast customers whose information was stored at the debt collector, Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), “around 2021,” according to a breach report Comcast filed with the Maine attorney general’s office. The incident illustrates the problem of third-party risk, as Comcast is just one of several organizations affected by the incident other than FBCS itself.

Comcast wrote FBCS had first notified them of a breach in March 2024 and launched an investigation; FBCS later disclosed customer information was stolen in July. In addition to social security numbers, the data lost includes names, addresses, dates of birth, and Comcast/FBCS account numbers.

Since FBCS claimed to lack the financial means to purchase credit monitoring services for victims, Comcast wrote in the filing, it has stepped in to do so.

Read more here.—TM

Password grades are improving, but the C-level grades aren’t ready for refrigerator display just yet.

A recent survey from credential manager Dashlane found that end-users are getting in better digital shape and improving their password health—a climbing figure that in 2024 includes more frequent use of lengthier passwords and less frequent use of recycled ones. The improvement, however, is slight, a pro at the company warned IT Brew.

“We’re going in the right direction: in terms of progress, of credential hygiene in the organization, but it’s very slow progress,” Dashlane CTO Frédéric Rivain said.

The password health score—a Dashlane-developed algorithm factoring in a user’s weak, reused, similar, and compromised passwords—has improved globally, according to the company’s 2024 Global Password Health Score report.

Keep reading here.—BH