Santander has confirmed that hackers have stolen the bank data of approximately 30 million customers. Reports suggest that the same group responsible for this breach also claimed to have hacked Ticketmaster earlier this week, compromising the details of around 560 million customers.
Santander, which employs about 200,000 people globally and roughly 20,000 in the UK, acknowledged the breach in a statement released this month.
The high street bank revealed that it had recently discovered unauthorised access to a Santander database hosted by a third-party provider, the Mirror reports. Immediate measures were taken to contain the incident, the bank assured.
However, following an investigation, it was confirmed that customer information from Chile, Spain, and Uruguay had been accessed. The bank clarified that data from all other Santander markets and businesses remained unaffected.
In its statement, Santander emphasised: “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 specific banking data accessed has not been disclosed by Santander. The bank reassured customers that its banking systems were not impacted, allowing them to continue transacting securely.
In a final note, Santander expressed regret over the incident, stating: “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 BBC has uncovered that a hacking collective known as “ShinyHunters” is claiming responsibility for a significant security breach. The group allegedly posted on a hacking forum, boasting they had harvested bank account details from 30 million individuals, including six million account numbers and balances, 28 million credit card numbers, and confidential HR information for employees.
Santander has yet to confirm the veracity of these alarming claims.
Previously, “ShinyHunters” has been linked to confirmed data theft from US telecom giant AT&T and is currently peddling what they allege to be a vast trove of private data from Ticketmaster. However, cybersecurity experts advise caution when assessing these assertions, noting that the group’s hacking forum was recently dismantled by law enforcement, and suggesting that the purported Ticketmaster hack may have been a ruse to promote their new operations.
