Data Breach: Four and Half Million People’s Information Missing

It is a missing backup tape which was unencrypted. There are four and a half million files from The Bank of New York Mellon that are missing. These people’s personal, confidential information is at risk:

” The attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents may be affected.

“This security breach seems highly dangerous, indeed possibly devastating in light of the identity theft threat,” said Blumenthal, a noted privacy advocate.”

link: Bank of New York Mellon loses data on 4.5 million

Two immediate questions are apparent:

• why was this data tape not encrypted?
• why does it take three months to notify customers that their confidential information was at risk?

This security breach potentially could costs The Bank of New York Mellon millions of dollars to provide their customers with adequate identity theft protection for just one year. If you are a customer of this bank, it might be prudent to place a credit freeze on your credit, even at this late date.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
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