RSA SecurID hack costs EMC $66m; scammers target victims with malware plot

The security breach at RSA earlier this year that compromised its SecurID two-factor authentication system has so far cost parent company EMC $66 million, according to the Washington Post.

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RSA SecurID hack costs EMC $66m; scammers target victims with malware plot

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In an earnings call this week discussing the company's second quarter results, EVP David Goluden, confirmed: "We incurred an accrued cost associated with investigating the attack, hardening our systems and working with customers to implement our remediation programs."

In total around $66 million has been spent as a result of the incident, including on transaction monitoring for worried corporate customers and replacements for firms that requested them, says the Post.

The company also revealed that it began alerting customers within hours of the attack and that it believes the target was defence and government agency information, not financial data.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the breach continues, with e-mail security specialist appriver claiming that a malware campaign has been launched targeting the owners of the 40 million SecurID Token user accounts compromised.

Appriver says messages are being sent out purportedly from RSA, warning that an "unsafe vulnerability" has been found in some token devices. Victims are asked to click on a link to what is supposedly a security scanner but is actually the infamous Zeus malware.

Another authentication outfit, SecurEnvoy has been quick to pick up on the scam and use it to attack its rival, with CTO Andrew Kemshall, claiming: "The success of this Zishing attack vector is the direct result of RSA inadequate and belated response to news of a break-in to its servers. Had the firm launched a better response as soon as the incident took place, then this infection campaign would not have any effect on users at all. It might also not have happened at all."

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