IT Security Stories to Watch: DOJ Finds Cyberfraud Ring

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged three defendants with allegedly running a cyberfraud ring that resulted in the theft of over 1 billion email addresses.

And as a result, the DOJ lands atop this week’s list of IT security newsmakers to watch, followed by Javelin Strategy & Research, Uber and The University of Chicago.

What can managed service providers (MSPs) and their customers learn from these IT security newsmakers? Check out this week’s list of IT security stories to watch to find out:

1. DOJ details “one of the largest reported data breaches in U.S. history”

DOJ officials last week indicted two Vietnamese citizens who resided in the Netherlands for their roles in hacking email service providers throughout the United States. Additionally, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Canadian citizen for conspiring to launder the proceeds obtained as a result of the data breach.

“These men – operating from Vietnam, the Netherlands and Canada – are accused of carrying out the largest data breach of names and email addresses in the history of the Internet,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said in a prepared statement. “The defendants allegedly made millions of dollars by stealing over a billion email addresses from email service providers.”

The DOJ also noted that one of the defendants has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer fraud.

2. Javelin: 12.7 million identity fraud victims lose $16 million

Javelin Strategy & Research’s new “2015 Identity Fraud Study” revealed cybercriminals stole $16 billion from 12.7 million U.S. consumers last year.

Other Javelin findings included:

“Consumers, financial institutions and retailers are all taking aggressive steps, yet we must remain vigilant. The criminals will continue to find new ways to commit fraud, so taking advantage of available technology and services to protect against, detect and resolve identity fraud is a must for all individuals and corporations,” Al Pascual, Javelin’s director of fraud and security, said in a prepared statement.

3. Taxi driver group wants Uber to investigate data breach

The New York Taxi & Limousine Commission is demanding ridesharing service Uber investigate a data breach that may have affected up to 50,000 of its drivers last year.

Uber last month told The Los Angeles Times that it could not say how the security vulnerability was first discovered because the matter was under investigation.

Currently, Uber is offering all affected drivers one-year free membership in an identity protection service and is encouraging affected drivers to monitor their credit reports for fraudulent transactions.

4. University of Chicago suffers a data breach

The University of Chicago’s computer networks were recently hacked, according to Hack Read.

University officials reportedly learned about the cyber attack on Jan. 22, and initial investigation into the incident showed that student data from the school’s Department of Medicine and contracted former and current employees may have been affected.

The school has not released any details about the number of students and employees who may have been impacted by the data breach.

What do you think will be the biggest IT security stories for MSPs this week? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].