Citigroup Confirms Hackers Accessed Accounts; Critic Asks Why Bank Delayed Disclosure
Citigroup Inc. has revealed that hackers have accessed the accounts of some 200,000 credit card customers in North America.
Citigroup says the hackers viewed customer names, account numbers and email addresses, report Reuters and the New York Times DealBook column. Both credit Financial Times (reg. req.) with breaking the news. Social Security numbers, card expiration dates and card security codes were not accessed, however.
The bank says about 1 percent of its North American customers were affected, which translates to about 200,000 bank card holders, Reuters says.
The breach was discovered in early May, according to the Financial Times. Dan Simpson, a spokesman for Australia’s Consumer Action Law Centre, questioned why Citibank didn’t reveal the breach earlier. “It’s the consumer’s personal information so consumers deserve to be told about security breaches immediately,” he told Reuters.
