After the leaked photo scandal that has dragged a number of celebrities, another hacking incident is making headlines in the name of banking institution JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In a report by Reuters, JPMorgan admitted on Thursday that information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of an estimated 83 million account holders were breached.
"User contact information - name, address, phone number and email address - and internal JPMorgan Chase information relating to such users have been compromised. The compromised data impacts approximately 76 million households and 7 million small businesses," JPMorgan said in a regulatory filing.
But the bank stressed that there was no evidence that vital information such as account numbers, passwords, user IDs, birth dates, or Social Security had been pilfered.
"However, there is no evidence that account information for such affected customers - account numbers, passwords, user IDs, dates of birth or Social Security numbers - was compromised during this attack."
Reuters also reported that "the people affected are mostly account holders, but may also include former account holders and others who entered their contact information at the bank's online and mobile sites," as a bank spokeswoman mentioned.
According to the firm, it "continues not to have seen any unusual customer fraud related to this incident." It also also assured that "JPMorgan Chase customers are not liable for unauthorized transactions on their account that they promptly alert the Firm to."
To protect their clients, JPMorgan said it "continues to vigilantly monitor the situation and is continuing to investigate the matter" as it "is fully cooperating with government agencies in connection with their investigations."
According to the Wall Street Journal, "the breach, which was first disclosed in August and is still under investigation by the bank and law enforcement, extended to the bulk of the bank's customer base, affecting an amount equivalent to two-thirds of American households."
