The JP Morgan Chase Bank breach is being called the worst known compromise in history, now said to be affecting approximately 76 million households and 7 million small businesses — and the situation appears to be worsening with each new piece of information.
According to The Guardian, the attack on the JP Morgan Chase bank was under way for a month before it was discovered in July, and when it was first disclosed in August, the bank estimated that about one million accounts had been compromised. However, the latest details coming to hand just last Thursday now reveal that the numbers have escalated into one of the most serious breaches of all time.
The enormous scale of the breach was confirmed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which the company revealed that the attackers stole user information including names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses as well as “internal JPMorgan Chase information”.
However, the company says there is no indication that account numbers, passwords, user IDs, dates of birth or Social Security numbers were compromised and it has not seen “any unusual customer fraud related to this incident.”
JP Morgan Chase and Co has published an FAQ based on investigations to date, concerned customers can access that notice here: Customer Notice FAQs
- More reading here: REUTERS and here: The Guardian
Hey Companies, how about protecting our data!
It seems every passing week brings news of yet another company database breach, each inevitably being labeled the “biggest yet”. It’s gotten to the stage where this kind of news is becoming rather ho hum, at least for those of us who are not directly involved. It’s also becoming more and more apparent that these companies are failing to properly protect consumer data.
Criminals are getting smarter and smarter and all companies need to react accordingly, security safeguards that worked yesterday do not necessarily work today. Maybe it’s time to introduce dereliction of duty type legislation with punitive measures for companies who fail to utilize optimum security protocols to properly protect consumer data? I certainly think so.
What do you think?
Beats me Jim why the security is lax, seeing the $billions in profits that banks make, one would think the accounts system would be impregnable.
It’s a joke when one sees the safes with thick, reo-concrete/steel walls and massive thick doors, and the ‘electronic money’ is vulnerable to robbers, disguises and guns no longer required.
Regards,
Jonno
I so agree Jonno.
As with the poor, there have always been thieves and there always will be thieves. No solutions other than to be on guard as in keeping your house and cars locked and your computer and smart phones as secure as you are able to. My husband and I have almost completely stopped using our debit cards. When we do, we always press the cancel button several times before just walking away. There just aren’t any assurances that a thief is next in line behind us. One thing about thieves you can always count on: you don’t usually realize they’ve been there until after the crimes have been committed. Sad world we live in.
This all reminds me of a story I was told by a carpenter over 30 years ago on a safe installed in one of the Chicago public schools.
The safe was very well constructed with a massive steel door, timelock and 12 inch thick concrete walls, with a 24 inch steel rod reinforced floor.
It was entered every night and stuff was removed. No trace of the lock being picked or forced open. This was frustrating to say the least.
They finaly decided to install a camera inside the vault to see who was getting in and how. They found out that the thief was entering from the room next door going through the drop-ceiling. Yes, you got it, all the money for the door, walls and floor and the thief got in without breaking a sweat.
Who was dumb? The people who designed the security of course. The theif never even graduated gradeschool but knew how to get in.
So far no-one seems game to say yes we definitely need legislation to protect our data from careless management by those collecting the data.
Well very clearly we do need such legislation but don’t hold your breath, we can’t even get decent food labelling legislation. The corporate world is too powerful.
Another example is the way Exon Valdez got away with very minimum compensation to the folks whose lives they ruined.