Chase Bank Notifies Customers of Breach

Backup Tape Reported Missing from Vendor Storage Facility Chase Bank has sent out data breach notification letters to an undisclosed number of customers after a computer tape with customers' personal information was reported missing from a third-party vendor's storage facility.

Tom Kelly, spokesperson for New York-based Chase, the commercial/consumer banking arm of financial giant JPMorgan Chase, says the vendor -- which he would not name -- confirmed it received and maintained the tape, and that its offsite facility had been searched thoroughly after the tape disappeared. Kelly would not say if the data on the tape was encrypted, but says its data can be read only with special equipment and software. "We have no evidence to indicate any of the information has been viewed or used inappropriately," Kelly says.

A local ABC News station in Louisville, KY first reported the missing data tape and the notification letters being sent in August. Kelly says the notification letters are being sent out in batches, but would not say how long the tape has been missing, nor what type of customers' information (credit or banking) was on the tape. The electronic files, according to the notification letter, may have included names, addresses and Social Security numbers, but did not include any banking or financial information.

Affected customers are being offered a free one-year subscription to the bank's identity protection program, Kelly says.

For more information on 2009 data breaches involving financial institutions, see this interactive timeline


About the Author

Linda McGlasson

Linda McGlasson

Managing Editor

Linda McGlasson is a seasoned writer and editor with 20 years of experience in writing for corporations, business publications and newspapers. She has worked in the Financial Services industry for more than 12 years. Most recently Linda headed information security awareness and training and the Computer Incident Response Team for Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), a subsidiary of the NYSE Group (NYX). As part of her role she developed infosec policy, developed new awareness testing and led the company's incident response team. In the last two years she's been involved with the Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), editing its quarterly member newsletter and identifying speakers for member meetings.




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