JP Morgan lost the details of 76 million users

Over 76 million households may have had their details revealed to scammers and fraudsters, thanks to JP Morgan.

In addition, eight million small business were exposed in a data breach in yet another farcical lack of security.

It is the largest-known cyber-attacks to take place this year. The breach affected people who visited the firm’s websites, including Chase.com, or used its mobile app, said a person briefed on the matter.

Details including names, phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses. Internal data identified customers by category – and disclosed whether they were clients of the mortgage, auto, credit-card or private-bank divisions.

Although the bank claims that no account numbers, passwords, user IDs, dates of birth or social security numbers were stolen, these sensitive details will have been kept alongside the names, addresses and phone numbers in customer files.

In other words, the extent of the breach is still not being reported. The breach was first revealed to have taken place in 2012. We are only just hearing about it now.

However, what is not being talked about, is exactly why this data breach is concerning.

Just a few weeks ago, the bank reported that it believed only one million details had been compromised. That number has now been ramped up to 76 million.

For those affected, it means months of guarding against identity theft.

Commenting, Jeremy Edwards, lead analyst at IBISWorld, said: “There’s now a potential array of fraudulent activity possible without the consumer even knowing. If you get a phone call that seems like it’s coming from a financial institution with your information, you’re more likely to believe the scammer.”

It is also very worrying that JP Morgan are among the biggest banks in the globe. In other words, in a world where the big banking institutions have gained a virtual monopoly over where consumers store their money, the choices available to the ordinary man on the street are very limited.

Mr Edwards, continued: “There’s no real reason to think that the Bank of America will have better systems than JP Morgan.”

JP Morgan was seen as one of the best banks on the global stage. If they can be hacked, so can anyone.

It is also unclear, exactly how the breach occurred and nor has anyone been apprehended for the breach.

In a similar lapse of security, the South Staffordshire Housing Association (SSHA) came under fire over the last week after it released the private details of thousands of its tenants.

The names, telephone numbers, addresses, family affairs and health details of all of its tenants appeared on the Contact Us page of its site.

In addition, more than 3,500 private messages sent between the provider and tenants were released, including a mother who had requested a house move and a woman who was struggling to pay her rent due to financial issues.

The breach has caused fury among residents, with two inhabitants telling the news provider that they felt “violated” and admitted the landlord was “not very good to deal with in general”.

All of this comes at a time when the government announced that it will be increasing the amount of data and surveillance it holds on ordinary people.

It also comes at a time when government departments such as local councils, HMRC, and organisations such as the NHS routinely collect and sell the details of those who are using its services.

In other words, the information you have is not in safe hands, despite assurances to the contrary.

It is not the first time a public company has lost customer details. Until ordinary men and women start demanding that governments and corporations are held accountable for the information they hold, then the latest breach of data and trust by faceless organisations such as JP Morgan is unlikely to be the last.

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