Robinhood Reveals Security Breach that Left 7 Million Customers Data Exposed

Online brokerage app Robinhood has revealed a security breach after hackers obtained the personal information of millions of its customers.

About 7 million Customers Affected by the Hack

Robinhood disclosed in a statement on November 8 that the email addresses of about 5 million of its users have been exposed, while another group estimated to be around 2 million have had their full names obtained.

The firm said 310 other users had other personal information like zip codes, name, and date of birth breached, while the hackers assessed extensive information on about ten customers.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, November 3, but the firm did not disclose the exact time of the security breach. It said the hackers demanded extortion payments after gaining unauthorized access. However, the company said it was able to contain the attack and promptly reported it to the authorities. A leading security company, Mandiant, has also been contacted to assist with the investigation.

The company insisted that no financial information like account number or credit card details was breached and that its customers suffered no financial loss in the attack.

Robinhood’s chief security officer, Caleb Sima, stated that the firm owed all its customers transparency and integrity. He also believes the company did the right thing by informing the whole Robinhood community about the hack. Robinhood’s share prices dropped 3.1% after the data breach announcement.

Hackers Target Other Crypto Companies

Hackers have targeted different crypto exchanges in the past, resulting in many companies suffering data breaches and leakages. The email addresses of about 3 million users on CoinMarketCap were accessed in October last year.

Financial service companies like Celsius, Ledger, and BitMEX have also suffered attacks from hackers. All of these attacks have followed the same pattern. These companies did not disclose the extent of these attacks to the public, but it is estimated to have affected about 1 to 3 million users. Robinhood has an estimated 31 million users worldwide, so that the attack might have affected a small fraction of its customer base.

The financial Service company changed the game of traditional brokerage by enabling free cryptocurrency and stock trades on its user-friendly app. It also dished out free shares of random stocks to new users as a form of reward. Robinhood enjoyed astronomical growth during the pandemic when a surge in interest for stocks and cryptocurrencies on social media led to millions of new users to the company’s app.