The website and mobile app for Ikea’s odd jobs marketplace, TaskRabbit, has come back online following a self-imposed outage. The company was investigating a cyber-security incident involving an unauthorised user gaining access to its systems. In a statement*, the company’s CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot admitted that certain personally identifiable information may have been compromised, urging users to change their passwords and monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity.

Fabian Libeau, VP for EMEA at RiskIQ, the digital threat management specialist, offers the following comment on TaskRabbit’s handling of the investigation and the importance of organisations having a deep insight into the nature and breadth of their digital assets:

“We applaud TaskRabbit for the speed with which it took down its website and mobile apps after the breach was revealed, putting its investigation into full force and alerting customers. Not only will this have limited the impact of the cyberattack, but it also goes to show that TaskRabbit has a fairly good handle on its digital footprint across its website and mobile apps.

“While this is a positive response to a cyber incident, it’s not always this straightforward and many organisations lack the understanding, visibility or resource to quickly evaluate their digital assets. When faced with increased digitisation and ever-sophisticated threats, organisations need to look beyond the firewall and evaluate their digital risk across web, mobile and social channels to protect against brand infringement, cybercrime and web-based attacks. Put simply, companies must proactively monitor and police their own digital presence – something that TaskRabbit has shown that it can do both transparently and effectively.”