A major cybersecurity data breach of Fidelity Investments recently exposed over 77,000 customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses.
The data breach was revealed in a recent filing with Maine’s Attorney General’s Office. According to Fox News, Fidelity Investments reported that a third party used two customer accounts to access information in the financial corporation’s systems. While Fidelity Investments said the two accounts were only recently established, the financial corporation did not explain how the new accounts were used to access information pertaining to over 77,000 other customers.
Fidelity Investments’ filing with Maine’s Attorney General’s Office shows that the data breach took place on August 17 before being discovered and stopped on August 19 and that 77,099 total customers were affected. Fox News reported that the data breach exposed personal information, such as customer names, driver’s licenses, and Social Security numbers.
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According to Fox News, Fidelity Investments confirmed that while over 77,000 customers’ personal information was compromised in the breach, the breach did not involve access to the customers’ Fidelity Investments accounts. The outlet also noted that the 77,000 customers affected in the breach only represent a small portion of its 51.5 million total customer base.
In a letter to the customers affected by the recent data breach, Fidelity Investments wrote, “We detected this activity on August 19 and immediately took steps to terminate the access.”
Emphasizing to customers that the company is taking the data breach seriously, Fidelity Investments said, “We take this incident and the security of your information very seriously. As mentioned earlier, upon detecting this activity, we promptly took steps to terminate it and address the situation.”
According to Fox News, Fidelity Investments is currently offering affected customers with free credit monitoring and identity restoration services for the next two years. The financial company is also encouraging its customers to remain vigilant, to report any suspicious activity, and to regularly review any financial statements.
