US bank Capital One suffers massive data breach

Capital One, the US bank, said on Monday that it had suffered a massive data breach, reporting that an outside hacker obtained the personal data of more than 100m customers and applicants for its credit cards. About 100m individuals based in the US and 6m in Canada had their information compromised in the breach, according to a statement by Capital One, which is among the top credit card issuers in America.

The breach took place in late March but was not discovered until this month, the company said, adding that it would notify those affected and make “free credit monitoring and identity protection” available to them.

The alleged hacker, Paige Thompson, was arrested on Monday and appeared in court in Seattle, according to court records. Prosecutors have moved to keep her in jail ahead of her trial. She was charged with one count of computer fraud and abuse.

Via Financial Times