(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Mortgage lender Mr. Cooper has finally supplied an update on last month’s breach, and it’s grim.
Hackers managed to steal the personal information from all of Mr. Cooper’s “current and former customers,” the company revealed in an SEC filing.
As a result, the breach has gone beyond the scope of Mr. Cooper’s current customer base, which stands at around 4 million. In a data breach notice to Maine's Attorney General, Mr. Cooper added that the breach ensnared the personal information of 14.7 million people.
In some more bad news, the culprits looted sensitive information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates or birth, and bank account numbers. In the wrong hands, this data could be used to launch identity theft scams.
In addition, Mr. Cooper’s data breach notice says that people who used the company’s sister brands, including RightPath Servicing, Rushmore Servicing, Greenlight Financial Services, and Champion Mortgage, are affected. Users who also previously applied for a loan through Mr. Cooper could have been ensnared as well.
It's unclear how the breach occurred. But Mr. Cooper says it detected unusual activity inside its corporate systems on Oct. 31. The company then locked down its IT systems to stop the breach, but it looks like the hackers still managed to steal a huge amount of information.
In response, the company is offering identity protection services to all affected victims free of charge for the next two years. Mr. Cooper added: “We are monitoring the dark web and have not seen any evidence that the data related to this incident has been further shared, published, or otherwise misused.”
The company plans on notifying affected users about the free identity monitoring services, which they can enroll in over the next 90 days. Users can see more details on the Mr. Cooper’s site.
“I want you to know how sorry I am for any concern or frustration this may have caused,” CEO Jay Bray added. “Making your homeownership journey as smooth as possible is our top priority, and we intend to make this right for you.”
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