TLDR
- Fidelity Investments has acknowledged a security breach that has affected a total of 77,099 customers.
- During the days of August 17th through the 19th, unauthorized access to private data occurred due to activity on two newly created accounts.
- Fidelity’s client accounts remained untouched during the breach.
- To address the issue, Fidelity is providing a free two-year service for credit monitoring and identity recovery.
- This marks the fourth data vulnerability for Fidelity over the past twelve months.
Fidelity Investments , a significant entity in the crypto ETF sector, has announced a breach affecting personal data of more than 77,000 clients.
The breach, transpiring between the 17th and 19th of August 2023, was officially reported to Maine’s attorney general as of October 9.
Despite the breach, only a minor fraction of Fidelity’s extensive 51.5 million customer base was affected.
As per the company's statement, customer names and other personal details were accessed by exploiting two freshly established customer accounts.
Fidelity stressed that no customer accounts were directly compromised in the breach.
The asset manager, overseeing $5 trillion, identified and cut off the unauthorized access by August 19.
Following the breach, Fidelity has involved external experts to bolster their security and rectify the situation.
To diminish potential repercussions for affected clients, Fidelity is offering a two-year, no-cost subscription to credit watching and identity restoration services.
The company has collaborated with TransUnion Interactive, a credit bureau, to implement these safeguard measures.
Fidelity advises the affected customers to stay alert and check their financial records regularly for any anomalies.
This event represents Fidelity’s fourth security breach within the last year, with prior incidents accounted for on March 4, March 18, and July 19, 2023.
The recurrent breaches are raising alarm over Fidelity's defensive systems for client data security.
Within this year, Fidelity Investments has drawn noteworthy focus in the crypto industry, amongst several fund managers launching Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the US.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has garnered close to $10 billion since its inception on January 11, 2023.
Additionally, the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) has attracted $445 million since starting on July 23, 2023.
Given its expanding role in the crypto ETF domain, the timing of this data incident is particularly sensitive.
As digital currencies continue gaining traction, investors are increasingly vigil about the protection of their sensitive personal and financial data.
It should be pointed out that Fidelity is not alone in these cyber hurdles; numerous leading tech and telecom firms have also unveiled breaches this year.
OpenAI , the brains behind ChatGPT, and AT&T, a major telecom firm, have both faced their share of security events.
For AT&T, the breach impacted over 100 million clients, underlining the pervasiveness of data protection issues across industries.
Fidelity remains reticent about the specifics concerning compromised data or the tactics employed by perpetrators for unauthorized access.
The company asserts its cooperation with law enforcement and regulatory bodies as their investigation is ongoing.
