Deloitte, known popularly in the United States as one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, has confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack. Not all of the details have been made public, but a Deloitte spokesperson noted that the attacker accessed data from an email platform.
According to the spokesperson, a review of the email platform is now complete. Their findings? While the company didn’t provide specific information, the spokesperson did say that, “Importantly, the review enabled us to understand precisely what information was at risk and what the hacker actually did and to determine that only very few clients were impacted and no disruption has occurred to client businesses, to Deloitte’s ability to continue to serve clients, or to consumers.”
Deloitte’s response to the attack has included “implementing its comprehensive security protocol and initiating an intensive and thorough review which included mobilizing a team of cyber-security and confidentiality experts inside and outside of Deloitte; contacting governmental authorities immediately after it became aware of the incident; and, contacting each of the very few clients impacted.”
The company did not release any hard numbers or indicate whether the attacks affected individual clients. Speculation within the cybersecurity world has theorized that the attacks were focused on corporate clients and not individual clients but that information has not been confirmed.
No one person or company has yet claimed responsibility for the hack. However, the fact that the attack appeared to target email systems to gain access to client information – possibly corporate client information – would suggest that the hackers were cybercriminals looking to steal data that could be sold.
It’s the second announcement of a high-profile cyber hack this month. Earlier, Equifax announced that hackers had gained access to personal information for nearly 143 million Americans. The hack raised eyebrows about security at the company and eventually resulted in the resignation of Richard Smith, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Deloitte offers audit & assurance, consulting, risk and financial advisory, risk management, tax, and related services to clients around the world. Two weeks ago, Deloitte Global announced revenues of US$38.8 billion for the last fiscal year. Among the industries credited with driving that growth? Risk Advisory revenue.
A spokesperson for the company added that “Deloitte remains deeply committed to ensuring that its cyber-security defenses are best in class, to investing heavily in protecting confidential information and to continually reviewing and enhancing cybersecurity.”
(I’ll update as more information becomes available.)
