IT Security Stories to Watch: IRS, Woolworths Data Breaches

Hackers illegally accessed the personal information of 104,000 taxpayers this spring, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

And as a result, the IRS tops this week’s list of IT security newsmakers to watch, followed by Woolworths, Google (GOOG) and Kaspersky Lab.

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. IRS gets breached

IRS officials said hackers recently gained unauthorized access to taxpayers’ personal information.

John Koskinen, IRS’s commissioner, said hackers breached a system called “Get Transcript” and were able to access taxpayers’ Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and tax filing status.

“To get these, our criminals already had to have personal identifiers available and personal information for each taxpayer,” he told The Washington Post.

Koskinen noted that cybercriminals used the stolen taxpayer information to submit fraudulent tax returns, which cost the IRS roughly $50 million.

2. Woolworths leaks customer information

Australian supermarket chain Woolworths accidentally emailed the redeemable codes of 8,000 gift cards containing customers’ names and email addresses. The incident was discovered Saturday morning.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the incident affected customers who purchased shopping vouchers from the online savings site Groupon.

After customers had paid for the vouchers, they were told that they would receive an email from Woolworths’ Everyday Gift Cards containing a PDF attachment with an electronic voucher. However, when some customers opened the attachment, they discovered an Excel spreadsheet containing the links to over $1 million worth of vouchers.

Affected customers have already received an email from Woolworths advising them their gift cards had been canceled. 

3. Google: Phishing sites on the rise

Google Product Manager Stephan Somogyi noted, during his presentation at last week’s Google I/O conference in San Francisco, that the number of phishing sites is increasing. He also said that recent data indicated malware is becoming less of a problem for many online users.

“Platforms, by and large, are becoming more hardened to malware,” he said, according to Yahoo Tech.

Google is using HTTPS encryption to secure users’ visits to different websites, Somogyi said, and will continue to explore ways to protect its users against various cyber threats as well.

4. Kaspersky Lab discovers Grabit

Kaspersky Lab has discovered a cyber-spying campaign – Grabit.

Hackers used this campaign to steal about 10,000 files from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Thailand, India and the United States, Kaspersky said. These cybercriminals also targeted companies in the chemicals, nanotechnology, education, agriculture, media, construction and other sectors during their attacks.

“Grabit is still active, and it’s critically important to check your network to ensure you’re safe,” Ido Noar, senior security researcher for Kaspersky’s global research and analysis team, said in a prepared statement. “This threat shouldn’t be underestimated.”

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].