Stolen personal information was used on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website to gain access to past tax returns of more than 100,000 individuals, The New York Times reports. Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal data gathered elsewhere were then used to fill out a multistep authentication process for requesting tax returns. The IRS said more than $50 million in refunds had already gone out before the scheme was detected. “We’re confident that these are not amateurs,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “These actually are organized crime syndicates that not only we but everybody in the financial industry are dealing with.” Meanwhile, a new study from the Ponemon Institute reveals that the cost of data breaches is on the rise. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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