×

Dec. data breach for Perry & Associates still under investigation

A data theft that occurred in early December from Perry & Associates, a Marietta accounting firm, is still under investigation and the company is not revealing any specific information about it.

A statement issued by Perry Wednesday said the data theft might have occurred through the use of malware, which is a type of cyber attack generally done through email attachments that infect a computer system, enabling a third party to view or download data on the system.

“Perry notified impacted clients and included in those notifications letters with instructions for enrolling in complimentary credit monitoring services, as well as additional steps individuals can take to protect their information,” the statement said.

Data thieves sometimes use the stolen information to open credit accounts or make purchases using the victims’ names, and credit monitoring helps potential victims protect themselves from fraudulent bills run up in their names.

The firm did not indicate how many of its clients were affected.

The investigation into the data theft is being conducted by the IRS office of criminal investigation in Parkersburg. The Times was unable to reach anyone in the office over the last several weeks.

Those at Perry & Associates would not comment beyond the issued statement.

Capt. Aaron Nedeff of the Marietta Police Department said the department was notified and has an incident report on file but the investigation remains in the hands of the IRS. The incident report indicates only that a data breach had been reported by Perry and was checked by an MPD detective on Feb. 21. The date of the breach was indicated on the report as Dec. 1, but Nedeff said the IRS had become involved well before the date of the MPD report.

The report narrative reads, “Representatives of Perry and Associates …. reported the businesses computers were recently hacked and customer information compromised.”

The statement from Perry indicates the firm has taken some action.

“Perry has been working closely with the IRS, as well as an independent computer forensic firm and other cybersecurity professionals that regularly investigate and analyze these types of incidents,” the statement said.

Although data hacks are ordinarily associated with large multinational companies, smaller businesses are not immune and have come under an increasing number of cyberattacks recently, according to a March 18 article by the Ohio Society of CPAs. Small businesses breaches, the article said, have increased by 44 percent in the past two years.

Most such breaches are indiscriminate, rather than targeted, with cyber thieves sending out mass emails and attacking any system that becomes vulnerable.

The society recommends that businesses take measures to protect their data:

¯ Identify online weaknesses.

¯ Back up important data in remote locations.

¯ Train employees in handling sensitive information, creating effective passwords and changing them regularly.

¯ Install cybersecurity software, and keep it up to date.

At a glance

Perry & Associates data theft

¯ Occurred: Early December.

¯ Number of clients affected: Not disclosed.

¯ Investigation: Being conducted by the IRS.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today