The world's larget e-mail marketing provider Epsilon has had a breach.  Epsilon has over 2500 clients including JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Capital One, TIAA-CREF, Best Buy, and Target.  During the breach cybercriminals were able to access the customer names and e-mail addresses of around 2 percent of Epsilon clients.  Epsilon has not yet released a list of clients whose customer information has been compromised.

What does this mean for you?  If you do business with one of Epsilon's clients, cybercriminals now may have your name and e-mail address, plus know the Epsilon client(s) you shop or do banking with.  This information can help the criminals write more targeted and sophisticated e-mails to steal financial data or spread malicious software. This type of attack is called "spear-phishing" because such emails are more focused on you than traditional "phishing" e-mails.   Please use extra caution when opening and/or replying to emails from any of Epsilon clients.

Read the following articles for more infromation on how to protect yourself from phishing attempts.

• Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks - http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-014.html 
• Using Caution with Email Attachments - http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-010.html