Robinhood, an investing application that has gained popularity in the last year, said on Monday that a security breach was recorded last week in the app. The company said hackers gained access to the personal information of nearly 7 million users and put forward a ransom demand, according to US media reports.
However, the trading platform cleared up that sensitive information like debit card numbers, bank account information and social security numbers had been part of the data breach. The statement from the company added that users had not reported any unusual financial losses that were linked to last week’s intrusion.
Also Read: Russia behind a majority of detected state-backed hacks: Microsoft report
A statement released by Robinhood read, “Based on our investigation, the attack has been contained and we believe that no Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or debit card numbers were exposed and that there has been no financial loss to any customers as a result of the incident.”
The hackers, who have been referred to as an “unauthorized party” gained access to the email addresses of five million people and full names of nearly 2 million users.
However, additional information of a handful of users was accessed by the “unauthorized party”, according to the statement released by the trading platform on Monday.
Also Read: US government imposes sanctions on crypto exchanges to curb ransomware
The statement read, “We also believe that for a more limited number of people—approximately 310 in total—additional personal information, including name, date of birth, and zip code, was exposed, with a subset of approximately 10 customers having more extensive account details revealed.”
Robinhood said that after it contained the intrusion, “the unauthorized party demanded an extortion payment.” The company said it notified law enforcement and is investigating the incident with the help of the security firm Mandiant, according to reports from Associated Press.
More than 22 million users have funded accounts at Robinhood, with nearly 19 million actively using theirs during September.
(With AP inputs)