Robinhood Says Email Addresses of 5 Million Customers Exposed in Security Breach

Robinhood said it believed no social security numbers, bank account numbers, or debit card numbers were exposed.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 9 November 2021 10:14 IST

Robinhood has been credited with introducing a generation of new individual investors to the stock market

Highlights

After stealing information, hacker tried to extort money from Robinhood
The breach took place late on November 3
Game-like aspects of Robinhood have also raised concerns

Robinhood on Monday warned users that hackers broke past heir way past the stock-trading app's defences, stealing millions of user email addresses and more.

The culprit called customer support and, pretending to be an authorized party, duped a Robinhood employee into providing access to the customer support computer system, a hacker technique referred to as "social engineering," the company said in a blog post.

After stealing information from Robinhood, the hacker tried to extort payment from the company, which opted to alert police and warn users about the breach, according to the post.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"We owe it to our customers to be transparent and act with integrity,” Robinhood chief security officer Caleb Sima said in the post.

"Following a diligent review, putting the entire Robinhood community on notice of this incident now is the right thing to do."

The breach took place late on November 3, with the hacker snatching about five million email addresses for Robinhood users, along with the names of about two million other members of the investment service, according to the company.

Robinhood to Begin Testing Crypto Wallets from October

Robinhood said it also appeared that the hacker got hold of names, birth dates and zip codes associated with 310 users, plus additional account details about some of those people.

"The attack has been contained and we believe that no Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or debit card numbers were exposed and that there has been no financial loss to any customers as a result of the incident," Robinhood said in the post.

Hackers could use the stolen information to try to trick Robinhood members with ruses such as "phishing" emails pretending to be the company.

Robinhood May Add Crypto Wallet Soon, Asks Followers What They Want

Robinhood has been credited with introducing a generation of new individual investors to the stock market, but the platform is also known for features that critics say can make it addictive.

Game-like aspects of Robinhood have also raised concerns that users may overlook serious financial ramifications of investing.

Is JioPhone Next the 4G phone for everyone that Reliance promises? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.