After being involved in the massive data breach suffered by Texas-based marketing firm Epsilon, electronics retail giant Best Buy recently told its customers that it has been hit by yet another data protection failure.
In a letter to customers, Best Buy said that an unauthorized party had accessed the files of one of its former business partners, which contained the email addresses of several of its customers. While Best Buy said the information was not particularly sensitive, it did warn that customers should practice caution and be aware of any malicious emails.
"We believe the only information taken was your email address, and that no other information was accessed," the company stated in the letter. "We do not believe that Best Buy was specifically targeted in this breach. We are continuing to investigate the situation, and are working closely with the appropriate officials to explore all possibilities."
The two breaches suffered by Best Buy highlight the importance of enterprise data protection. While neither of the two incidents appear to extend from Best Buy's systems directly, the result is all the same to the customer who downloads a virus from a malicious email message.
"We ask that you remain alert to incoming emails. Please be very cautious when opening links or attachments, even if they seem to come from legitimate sources," Best Buy stated. "If you hover your cursor over a hotlink in an email and the URL that pops up makes you uncomfortable, it's probably best not to click on that site."
Several high-profile data breaches have taken place in recent weeks, including a cyber security attack that may have compromised more than 100 million accounts on Sony's PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment service. While Best Buy was quick to notify its customers of the breach, Sony has been criticized for its relatively slow response.
