Aaron Salzman, reporting from TorontoHackers attacked both BMO and Simplii Financial on Sunday, May 27, 2018, and then alerted the banks to the hack. Sources speculate it may have been an attemp at extortion. Neither bank is saying how the breach occurred although several bank customers reported that fake e-transfers were sent from their accounts days before the hacking. The hacking became headline news on May 28, 2018. Cyber crime security is a growing problem for financial institutions because technological innovation is increasing the amount of data at risk. In Canada, 68% of customers use online banking. Outsourcing, too, is a problem; as every supplier can act as a so-called “back door” to a financial institution’s customer data. “Every financial institution uses outside vendors. And every single information technology system has vulnerabilities,” says Ed Dubrovsky, managing director of cyber breach response at Cypfer Inc.While banks say they will compensate customers for any financial losses, once hackers have your date of birth (DOB), home address, and other personal informationis, cyber security experts say there is no way to protect against that. Armed with this information, hackers can use it to open new accounts in your name. Identity theft is a multi-billion dollar business.
WATCH INTERVIEW (2 mins.)
