Hackers hit Citigroup Japan, claim 92k customers' data

Hackers broke into the website of CitiGroup in Japan, taking the personal information of 92,408 customers and allegedly selling the data to a third party. Citi Cards Japan, in an Aug. 5 press release, said the compromised information included account numbers, names, addresses, and phone numbers. "(But) it has been confirmed that security information, including Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and Card Security Code (CVVs) has not been compromised," it said. Citi Cards Japan said it immediately reported the "inappropriate sale" to the relevant authorities and is cooperating in the investigation. Also, it said it has placed internal fraud alerts and enhanced monitoring on all accounts identified. It added the risk of fraud is minimal due to the absence of security information. "CCJ is taking necessary actions to contact all the customers affected by letter and its homepage. CCJ will re-issue credit cards should affected customers wish to do so. Should any fraudulent transactions occur, affected customers will not be held responsible," it said. The Hacker News reported that this was the second time this year that CitiGroup suffered a major breach of its credit customers’ personal information. It said CitiGroup earlier disclosed that credit card customers had $2.7 million stolen from their accounts as a result of a data breach last June. — TJD, GMA News