IT Security Stories to Watch: Sony Settles with Employees Over Breach

Sony (SNE) has reached a settlement related to claims from current and former employees over the theft of personal information in a cyber attack that took place last year.

And as a result, Sony tops this week’s list of IT security newsmakers to watch, followed by TalkTalk, G DATA and Xero. 

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

1. Sony settles data breach claims

Sony will pay as much as $8 million to current and former employees over personal information stolen from the company during a cyber attack. 

Bloomberg reported that current and former employees will receive roughly $4.5 million as part of the agreement, with lawyers receiving the remainder of the settlement.

Also, Sony will provide as much as $2 million to reimburse employees who paid for their own preventive identity theft measures, as well as pay as much as $2.5 million to reimburse employees who were victims of identity theft.

2. TalkTalk suffers data breach

U.K.-based telecommunications provider TalkTalk has launched a criminal investigation into a data breach that may have affected more than 4 million customers.

TalkTalk said customers’ banking and personal information may have been accessed during the cyber attack, according to BBC News.

“We are continuing to work with leading cyber crime specialists and the Metropolitan Police to establish exactly what happened and the extent of any information accessed,” TalkTalk said in a prepared statement. 

3. G DATA: 12 new malware strains every minute

A new study from anti-malware solutions provider G DATA revealed that there has been a 64.8 percent increase year over year in the number of malware strains in the first half of 2015.

In addition, the study showed that the United States, France and China currently host the most malicious and fraudulent websites.

“About three-quarters of Internet users are conducting their financial transactions online, and cybercriminals have recognized this huge opportunity for malicious attacks,” G DATA Security Evangelist Andy Hayter said in a prepared statement. “Not surprisingly, because of this, we’re seeing a significant increase in attacks from banking Trojans for the first time since 2012.”

4. Xero notifies customers about phishing and malware scams

Cloud-based accounting platform provider Xero said some of its customers have been victimized by phishing and malware scams.

“The company is aware of a small number of Xero customers falling victim to phishing/malware scams and someone gained unauthorized access to their account login details and passwords,” a Xero spokesperson told  MSPmentor. “Xero has proactively communicated to those customers where an issue has been identified.”

PYMNTS.com noted that Xero is encouraging its customers to change their passwords and scan their computers for malware.

What are your thoughts on this week’s IT security stories to watch? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].