J.P. Morgan Warns of UCard Data Breach
A July attack on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s network has put the personal information of nearly a half million of the bank’s customers at risk.
J.P. Morgan said Wednesday that 465,000 users of its UCard prepaid cash cards may have had some personal information pilfered by hackers that breached its network. Speaking to Reuters, the bank said it believes only “a small amount” of noncritical data was taken. But it doesn’t seem to have definitively ruled out the theft of social security numbers, birth dates, etc. As of yet, there is no evidence any crimes have been committed using the data.
J.P. Morgan began apprising some of its government clients of the breach earlier this week, and those that have been warned aren’t happy. Indeed, some are wondering what took so long.
“I am dismayed that J.P. Morgan Chase delayed informing my Office of this security breach for two and a half months — from mid-September, when they first learned of it, until this week,” Connecticut state Treasurer Denise Nappier said in a statement. “They should have picked up the phone immediately and called us. That the company failed to communicate this security breach in a timely manner raises concerns over its culture of compliance and broader governance issues.”
The FBI is currently investigating the matter. Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan is offering affected card holders a year of free credit-monitoring services.