8,300 Online Banking Logins Stolen

2010-01-12

More than 8,300 bank account login credentials were stolen from a small New York bank after hackers breached its security and gained access to a server hosting its online banking system.

According to a press release issued by Suffolk County National Bank, the intrusion happened over a six-day period between November 18 and November 23, 2009.

Dan Goodin, The Register, writes "The breach represents a variation on more traditional types of attacks on online banking. Cyber crooks typically target customers by surreptitiously planting malware on their computers that log their user name and password. The FBI estimates that online banking losses to small and medium-sized businesses alone have reached $100m."

The bank stated, "Although the intrusion was limited in duration and scope, SCNB immediately isolated and rebuilt the compromised server and took other measures to ensure the security of data on the server. To date, SCNB has found no evidence of any unauthorized access to online banking accounts, nor received any reports of unusual activity or reports of financial loss to its customers."

Adding, "Investors and shareholders should be advised that a provision of approximately $351,000, net of taxes, or about $0.04 per share, was booked during the fourth quarter of 2009 to account for expenses which may or may not be incurred in responding to this incident."