Video source: YouTube, CNBC Television
Online stock trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD) disclosed Monday evening that hackers made off with personal information of its more than 7 million users last week in a major security breach.
According to Robinhood, hackers stole email addresses of about 5 million customers and the full names of another 2 million.
The cybercriminals also swiped other personal details, such as birth date and zip code, of about 300 people, the company said. For about 10 customers “more extensive account details” were revealed, though Robinhood did not say anything further on what that information was.
No Social Security numbers, debit card numbers or bank account numbers were exposed in the breach and no customers have reported financial losses as a result, according to Robinhood.
The hack occurred on Nov. 3, when the perpetrators gained access to Robinhood’s customer support network by tricking an employee during a phone call, the company said.
After it was able to contain the attack, Robinhood said the hackers sought an “extortion payment” but declined to say whether or not it paid any ransom to the group.
The company added that it is “in the process of making appropriate disclosures to affected people,” as well as working with law enforcement and cybersecurity firm Mandiant to investigate the incident.
“As a Safety First company, we owe it to our customers to be transparent and act with integrity,” Robinhood chief security officer Caleb Sima said in a statement. “Following a diligent review, putting the entire Robinhood community on notice of this incident now is the right thing to do.”
Last week’s breach comes about a year after hackers gained access to 2,000 of Robinhood’s user accounts.
Prior to that, another of Robinhood’s biggest security blunders occurred in July 2019, when it admitted to storing some user passwords in plaintext.
According to The Associated Press, more than 22 million users have funded accounts with the no-fee trading app, with nearly 19 million actively using theirs during September.
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Source: Equities News
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