JP Morgan Chase Data Breach Affects Millions Of Customers
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A cyber attack on the nation's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, compromised information for more than 76-million households and seven million small businesses.
The stolen information includes customer names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. The New York based bank said there's no evidence that the data breach included customer account numbers, passwords, social security numbers or dates of birth.
The hackers, however, could still cash in by selling the personal information or use other tactics to attempt to gain access to customers' accounts.
"It makes me nervous," said Nelson Carmenates, a Chase customer.
So far the source of the cyber attack isn't clear.
It affects customers who banked online or used the bank's apps. The cyber attack began as early as June.
"They probably obtained 76 million email accounts," said Yair Levy, a cybersecurity expert and professor at Nova Southeastern University.
Levy said the JP Morgan Chase breach is different than other breaches we've seen recently at Home Depot and Target because the bank has so many people devoted to protecting its cyber resources. He said the fact that hackers were still able to get in, illustrates the vulnerability of even the systems considered the most secure.
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"They have a group of about 200 employees who are dedicated for cybersecurity," explained Levy, adding, "We need to be aware that any information system that is connected to the internet, or is turned on in general, will have potential vulnerabilities and potential risks for breaches."
Levy stressed the importance of awareness, monitoring, and education for any Chase customers. He said attackers may send out emails that appear to be from your bank.
"The link will appear it goes to Chase, but when you click on link and log in you'll log into server that is not Chase.
When you type username and password, they grab your username and password and they can use it to log into the real Chase server," said Levy
That's when hackers will be able to access your account.
Levy also encourages everyone to monitor statements for even the smallest charges that aren't familiar and alert the bank to anything that seems strange. Customers here in South Florida said they'll be watching closely.
"I'm going to monitor my accounts probably every 15 minutes, just in case," said Humberto Gomez.
"I watch every penny that goes in and out," added Carmenates.
JP Morgan Chase has decided not to offer free credit monitoring to its customers since no financial or account information was compromised.
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