11K Bank of America Customers Lose Data to Breach
Table of Contents
- By Steven
- Published: Aug 17, 2023
- Last Updated: Aug 17, 2023
Ernst and Young is one of the leading consulting companies that helps with strategic and transactional taxes. The company offers excellent services to other major companies and handles a large amount of financial and personal data for all the customers impacted by them. This organization works with major clients like Bank of America, which is now more than 11,000 Bank of America customers were exposed in a recent data breach involving this company. It's a scary time to have your information available digitally. Learn more details about the breach below and what you can do about it.
How Did the Attack Occur?
Bank of America customers lost their data through Ernst and Young via the MOVEit file transfer attacks. The MOVEit file transfer service is used by many major financial and government agencies to secure files as they're moved. The service recently discovered a vulnerability, and it's been leveraged to steal data from more than 600 different companies. The information was taken near the end of May or the beginning of June, and it's likely that the Bank of America information was taken then as well.
What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?
This data breach resulted in the loss of personal information mostly. Data such as home addresses, full names, Social Security numbers, Government IDs, and financial account information were taken. This data could be leveraged to cause real harm to the people involved if the attackers want to use it that way.
How Did Ernst and Young Admit to the Breach?
Ernst and Young sent a document to the Maine Attorney General's office explaining the details of the data breach on August 9th, 2023. After the information was sent over, the company also began sending out personalized letters detailing the issue and how it could impact all the victims involved.
What Will Become of the Stolen Information?
The data taken from more than 30,000 individuals will likely be used for identity theft attacks and also for phishing attacks. The attackers will often try and earn money from the information taken, and they will use the data to try and steal additional data. It's also possible that your data will be resold to additional hackers for misuse. It's impossible to say how your information will be used, but it will likely damage your credit and reputation. If your information was taken, you should immediately protect it from misuse before it's too late.
What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?
Should you discover your data was stolen, you have a short window of time to react and protect yourself as much as possible. Check your credit to learn about any odd changes that show on your record. You should also consider getting a credit monitoring service to watch over your credit and look for any strange changes. Between these two changes, you can protect yourself against most issues and give yourself time to react.