JPMorgan hack exposed data of 83 m, among biggest breaches in history

Tuesday, 7 October 2014 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of the holders of some 83 million households and small business accounts were exposed when computer systems at JPMorgan Chase & Co were recently compromised by hackers, making it one of the biggest data breaches in history.

The bank revealed the scope of the previously disclosed breach on Thursday, saying that there was no evidence that account numbers, passwords, user IDs, birth dates or Social Security numbers had been stolen. It added that it has not seen ‘unusual customer fraud’ related to the attack which exposed contact information for 76 million households and 7 million small businesses. The people affected are mostly account holders, but may also include former account holders and others who entered their contact information at the bank’s online and mobile sites, according to a bank spokeswoman. Security experts outside of the bank warned that the breach could result in an increase in crime as scammers will likely attempt to use the stolen information to engage in various types of fraud. The bank’s customers should be on heightened alert for fraud, said Mark Rasch, a former federal cyber crimes prosecutor.

Hackers who hit JPMorgan attacked some 9 other firms REUTERS: About nine other banks and brokerages were infiltrated by the same group of hackers who recently attacked computer systems at JPMorgan Chase & Co, the New York Times reported late on Friday, citing unnamed people briefed on the matter. The report, which could not be independently verified and did not identify any of the victims beyond JPMorgan, said it was not clear how serious the attacks had been. JPMorgan said on Thursday that names and contact information for some 83 million household and small business customers were stolen, making it one of the biggest data breaches in history. The New York Times said the breadth of the attacks and uncertainty about the motives of the hackers are troubling U.S. policymakers and intelligence officials. Representatives with the U.S. Secret Service could not be reached for comment on Saturday morning. The Secret Service is investigating the attack on JPMorgan.