This week, users were alerted by the Robinhood trading app about a massive cyber-attack on the app that led to the stealing of more than a million user ids and more. The concerned authorities have provided more insights into the incident. The attacker acted as an authorized party as he contacted the customer care and tricked an employee into enabling their entry into the customer care system.
Precisely, the incident took place on 3rd November.
There were attempts by the hacker to steal money from the app. Besides, hackers also got access to birth dates, names, and zip codes of about 310 people. The law enforcement has been intimated about the incident, added the authorities. The investigation is now on with the help of Mandiant, a cyber security firm.
“Following a diligent review, putting the entire Robinhood community on notice of this incident now is the right thing to do,” says Caleb Sima, Chief Security Officer, Robinhood.
The firm further added that no bank account numbers, debit card numbers, or social security numbers are affected. Although customers don’t have to worry about the possibility of financial losses through the stolen data, the information can be utilized to fool the app users. Therefore, app users need to be always diligent with emails and communications from the app. Some of these emails may be from hackers.
Robinhood is a complimentary trading app that allows investors to trade options, stocks, cryptocurrency, or exchange-traded funds. Users don’t have to pay any fees or commissions.
Overall, the app has about 21 million consumers and about $102 billion in the form of assets. The app appears to be the favorite of many first-time users. The average age of Robinhood consumers is about 31.