TD Ameritrade Suffered a Breach: Investors are Concerned
Table of Contents
- By Steven
- Published: Jul 17, 2023
- Last Updated: Jul 17, 2023
TD Ameritrade is a large-scale investment company with more than 11 million clients throughout the world. The organization has more than 6,000 independent investment advisors, manages more than $1 trillion in assets, and is a big deal in the investing community. That's why it's frightening to learn that the company was breached recently and that personal and likely financial data was lost in the process. We don't know all the specifics about the breach yet, but we know that thousands of customers are now at risk and that if nothing is done, individuals could suffer from identity theft and more. That's why it's important to verify you weren't involved and to take steps to guard your data.
How Did the Attack Occur?
Like all the other attacks, TD Ameritrade was compromised because of the MOVEit file transfer service. The company relied on MOVEit to move important documents around. MOVEit is the recent victim of a ZeroDay exploit that enables hackers to access the files connected to the service. More than 130 different companies have lost information to the attack, and TD Ameritrade is another on that list. Up to 5,500 individuals from the company could be impacted by this breach.
What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?
TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab haven't been forthcoming with the exact information stolen in this data breach. We only know that the data taken is personal and that it could be used for identity theft attacks. The data stolen is an issue, and individuals that rely on Ameritrade should be concerned and take steps to protect themselves. We expect Ameritrade to release more details about what information was taken in the breach in the weeks to come. It's also likely the company will send notices to everyone identified as being involved in this breach.
How Did TD Ameritrade Admit to the Breach?
Charles Schwab, the parent company of TD Ameritrade, released a statement informing customers and investors that a data breach occurred. We don't know if individual notices have gone out to impacted customers yet, but it's likely notices will be sent out informing everyone involved what information is at stake specifically.
What Will Become of the Stolen Information?
While it's difficult to say how the Ameritrade data will be used, it's possible it will be leveraged for identity theft attacks. The hackers that took the information will attempt to collect a ransom for it first. If that doesn't work, they will move on to using the information for attacks, giving the data away, or selling it to third parties that are interested.
What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?
If you learn your information was involved in the Ameritrade data breach, you should immediately check your credit reports and strongly consider getting credit monitoring services. You should know what's going on with your accounts, and a monitoring tool will help you achieve that. Invest in a good tool, and you can reach out to companies to resolve issues before they cost you money or damage your credit.