JPMorgan Cyberattack Compromised 76 Million Households and 7 Million Small Businesses

The cyberattack on JPMorgan Chase & Co that was initially announced in July, apparently compromised information from 76 million households along with 7 million small businesses, the company stated Thursday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This was definitely one of the biggest cyber security attacks in history.

However bank officials assured their costumers hey have not seen unusual fraud since the attack. They are also assuring those who do business with the bank that their money is safe.

The Wall Street Journal sustains the statement and reports that security experts believe the information hacked is tied more to JP Morgan’s marketing operations rather than banking.

The largest U.S. bank by assets said the unknown attackers stole customers’ contact information, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and addresses. The breach, which was first disclosed in August and is still under investigation by the bank and law enforcement, extended to the bulk of the bank’s customer base, affecting an amount equivalent to two-thirds of American households.

However the bank reassures the affected ones that hackers were unable to gather detailed information on accounts, such as account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers or dates of birth. Customer money is “safe,” the bank said in a statement to customers on Thursday.

“But anytime someone walks in and takes information, it isn’t good,” said Drew Maness, an independent cybersecurity consultant who used to work for Universal Music Group and Bank of America Corp. “For instance, it is possible for hackers to use stolen email addresses to send fake emails to Chase customers that trick them into logging in to an impostor Chase website,” Mr. Maness said.

Similar cases have been dealt with before. In September, Home Depot Inc. confirmed its payment systems were breached in a cyberattack that impacted about 56 million payment cards. About a year ago, Adobe Systems Inc. said it suffered a cyberattack that some estimated impacted more than 100 million usernames, encrypted passwords and password hints.

In addition, Target Corp.’s cyberattack last holiday season affected 40 million payment cards and 70 million names, addresses, emails and phone numbers. Target’s CEO resigned a few months later.

JPM shares were down 0.89% in after-hours trading.

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Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.