Goodbye Fidelity – more than 77,000 customers are at risk from database breaches

Fidelity Investmentsone of the largest issuers of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), has confirmed that a security breach exposed the security information of more than 77,000 customers.

The leading financial accounting firm confirmed to Maine’s attorney general on October 9 that a total of 77,009 customer details was affected by one Data breacha “small” number in the sense that Fidelity’s databases contain approximately 51.5 million customers.

This incident comes at a time when organizations face increasing cybersecurity threats in an increasingly complicated digital landscape. According to this security report, the company suffered as a result Cyber ​​attack between August 17 and 19, when a hacker managed to access this sensitive information through two newly created customer accounts.

Which data was stolen?

After this incident, the company emphasized that its customers’ accounts were not affected, that is, there were no movements or transactions on them informationThat means “sensitive“, discloses names and other personal identifiers (e.g. ID numbers).

As we said, Fidelity did this denied that financial accounts were accessedwhich is crucial for customers to continue to maintain trust in the company.

Fidelity file management that is appreciated 5 billion (!!) Dollar, discovered this leak very quickly and subsequently denied access, although to do so they had to rely on the work of external cyber experts (other hackers, but who were classified as good ones).

Fidelity offers a free credit monitoring and identity recovery service to affected individuals who can access this service for two years to detect unusual activities that could affect their personal financial situation. Affected individuals must register with the credit reporting agency TransUnion Interactive.

Fidelity believes it is a good idea for users to stay alert for fraudulent situations by regularly checking their account statements.

In the statement they also recalled the importance of Watch for signs of attempted identity Theft, such as B. receiving suspicious emails or unauthorized transactions.

More security breaches at Fidelity

In the last 12 months, this is the fourth data breach the company has experienced. The other leaks they experienced occurred on March 4, March 18 and July 19.

These leaks, and particularly the fact that they occurred so close together, have caused the company to raise questions about its own organization’s internal security. Although the reason for each of the breaches was different, the repeated occurrence has increased pressure to improve its security infrastructure to ensure 100 percent protection of its customers’ data.

What solutions has Fidelity provided?

Currently, the company has not issued a statement on what it will do regarding cybersecurity in the future, although it is likely working with experts in the sector to prevent something like this from happening again.

Cryptocurrencies, growth and challenges

Fidelity continues to be one of the most important financial institutions despite these “stumbling blocks” it has faced.

Having recently launched several cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, on the one hand the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund – FBT(which has managed to attract nearly $10 billion in inflows since its launch on January 11, 2023) and on the other hand the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), with inflows of $445 million since July 23, 2023.

Products that have proven popular with investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies such as: Bitcoin And ether (due to the volatility that characterizes this market)

However, Fidelity’s growing presence in the industry highlights the critical importance of strengthening a cybersecurity infrastructure, as cryptocurrencies are an attractive target for cyber attackers.

Other cybersecurity incidents.

Fidelity isn’t the only company to suffer a security breach this year. In 2023, other large companies such as the telecommunications giant will join AT&T And OpenAICreator of the ChatGPT Technology have also reported significant data breaches, exposing data from more than 100 million customers.