One of the largest banks in the world says a data breach has exposed information on both its customers and employees.
In a statement, Santander says it’s aware of “unauthorized access” to a third-party database containing information on an undisclosed number of customers and employees.
The bank, which has $1.8 trillion in total assets and operates in ten markets across Europe and the Americas, says customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay are affected.
“Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed. Customer data in all other Santander markets and businesses are not affected.”
So far, the bank has not disclosed details on the sensitive data that was exposed, noting only that “transactional data” and “credentials” are not in the open.
“No transactional data, nor any credentials that would allow transactions to take place on accounts are contained in the database, including online banking details and passwords. The bank’s operations and systems are not affected, so customers can continue to transact securely.
We apologise for the concern this will understandably cause and are proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly. We have also notified regulators and law enforcement and will continue to work closely with them.”
The bank says it has implemented measures to contain the incident, including “blocking the compromised access to the database and establishing additional fraud prevention controls to protect affected customers.”
Santander’s data breach comes weeks after JPMorgan Chase revealed a breach affecting 451,809 customers’ retirement records, which contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.
In that instance, Chase says there’s currently no indication that the data has been misused.
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