HSBC Bank USA hit by data breach
It seems no one can stop the breaches as cyber attackers have got hold of customer data belonging to HSBC Bank USA.
Data stolen
According to a “notice of data breach” sent to affected customers on 2 November, HSBC Bank USA said a number of online accounts were accessed by unauthorised users between 4 October 2018 and 14 October 2018.
The data stolen includes full name, mailing address, phone number, email address, date of birth, account numbers, account types, account balances, transaction history, payee account information, and statement history.
The notification says: “When HSBC discovered your online account was impacted, we suspended online access to prevent further unauthorised entry of your account.”
Ilia Kolochenko, CEO and founder of web security company High-Tech Bridge, adds: “Allegedly, only US customers are affected, thus it may indicate that the breach occurred via an authorised third-party or careless employee.”
To try and mitigate the issues (and anger if you check Twitter), the bank is offering customers “complimentary” Identity Guard subscription “given increased identity theft attack expectations”. This provides an extra layer of security. Customers need to activate it by ringing up or going to the bank’s site.
These data breaches are almost like the Borg in Star Trek. No one seems able to halt them.
Some recent examples include Equifax getting fined £500,000 for its UK security breach; and UK banks battling to deal with the British Airways data breach.
