Customers foresee banks and other financial services businesses offering high-level security in securing sensitive data.
Banks and financial institutions comprise a wealth of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Payment Card Industry (PCI) data like social security numbers, credit card numbers, credit scores, and addresses. This allows cybercriminals to open bank and credit card accounts and filing tax returns spending loyal customers’ money.
Top 5 Online Payment Banking Data Breaches till 2023
Target (2013):
In 2013, Target’s 40 million customers’ personal & financial data was compromised. The breach was due to malware on the point-of-sale systems used to process credit and debit card transactions. The breach occurred during the holiday shopping season and is among history’s
most significant retail data breaches.
The breach occurred due to malware installed on the point-of-sale systems that process credit and debit card transactions. As customers purchased at Target stores, the malware could steal sensitive information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and credit and debit card numbers.
Target discovered the breach on December 15, 2013, and took immediate steps to contain the attack. The company also worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate the breach and identify the perpetrators. The investigation revealed that the attackers belonged to a group of hackers based in Russia.
The Target data breach had significant consequences for the company, including reputational damage and financial losses. The company faced several lawsuits related to the breach, including one that resulted in settlement of $18.5 million.
The Target data breach emphasized the importance of strong security measures to protect sensitive customer data. It also highlighted the need for companies to monitor their systems closely for potential vulnerabilities and respond quickly to security incidents.
Home Depot (2014):
Home Depot experienced a data breach in which the personal information of more than 56 million customers was stolen. The security breach occurred by malware installed on point-of-sale systems that process credit and debit card transactions.
As customers purchased at Home Depot stores, the malware could steal sensitive information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and credit and debit card numbers.
Home Depot discovered the breach in September 2014 and took immediate steps to contain the attack. The company also worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate the breach and identify the perpetrators. The investigation revealed that the attacker was a group of hackers based in Eastern Europe.
The Home Depot data breach had significant consequences for the company, including reputational damage and financial losses. The company faced several lawsuits related to the breach, including one that resulted in a settlement of $25 million.
The Home Depot data breach emphasized the importance of strong security measures to protect sensitive customer data. It also highlighted the need for companies to monitor their systems closely for potential vulnerabilities and respond quickly to security incidents.
JPMorgan Chase (2014):
JPMorgan Chase experienced a significant data breach in which hackers accessed the personal information of over 76 million households and seven million small businesses. The breach was due to a vulnerability in one of the bank’s web applications.
The breach emerged due to exposure in one of the bank’s web applications. Hackers exploited this vulnerability to access JPMorgan’s systems and steal sensitive information, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, and internal JPMorgan Chase user IDs. The hackers also obtained access to the encrypted passwords of some customers, but no passwords were compromised.
JPMorgan Chase discovered the breach in July 2014 and took immediate steps to contain the attack. The bank also worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate the breach and identify the perpetrators. The investigation revealed the attack by a group of hackers based in Russia.
The JPMorgan Chase data breach had significant consequences for the bank, including reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny. The bank also faced several lawsuits related to the breach, including one that resulted in a settlement of $5 million.
The JPMorgan Chase data breach emphasized the importance of implementing strong security measures and conducting regular security assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities. It also highlighted the need for financial institutions to work closely with law enforcement agencies to investigate and respond to potential cyberattacks.
Equifax (2017):
Equifax faced a massive data breach that exposed the personal data of more than 147 million people, including names, addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers. The breach was due to a vulnerability in a web application for credit card transactions. This breach occurred due to exposure in a web application for credit card transactions. The vulnerability allowed hackers to access
Equifax’s systems and steal sensitive information over several months, starting in May 2017.
Equifax discovered the breach on July 29, 2017, but publicly disclosed it on September 7, 2017. The delay in revealing the breach received criticism widely as it allowed hackers to use the stolen information for several weeks before alerting customers.
The breach had significant consequences for Equifax, including the resignation of several executives, lawsuits, and a congressional investigation.
Equifax also agreed to pay a settlement of up to $700 million to compensate affected consumers. The Equifax breach highlighted the importance of maintaining robust security measures and responding quickly to potential violations. It also emphasized the need for consumers to regularly monitor their credit reports and take steps to protect their personal information.
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Capital One (2019):
Capital One experienced a data breach in which the personal information of over 100 million customers was stolen, including names, addresses, and credit scores. The breach was due to a vulnerability in the bank’s cloud infrastructure.
The breach happened due to a misconfigured firewall letting a hacker access a Capital One cloud storage server. The hacker was able to steal sensitive information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and credit card numbers. The hacker also obtained social security numbers and linked bank account numbers in some cases.
Capital One discovered the breach on July 19, 2019, and immediately took steps to contain the attack. The company also worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate the breach and identify the perpetrator. The investigation revealed that the attacker was a former employee of a cloud computing company that provided services to Capital One.
The Capital One data breach had significant consequences for the company, including reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny. The company also faced several lawsuits related to the breach, including one that resulted in a settlement of $80 million.
The Capital One data breach emphasized the importance of implementing strong security measures and conducting regular security assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities. It also highlighted the need for companies to monitor their third-party service providers carefully and ensure that they have robust security measures.
Over the years, these were the top 5 online payment banking data breaches till 2023 involving financial services providers, banks, and payment processing companies.
