Financial Corporation First Horizon Suffers Data Breach

First Horizon Corp., a bank holding firm, reported a data breach that resulted in the theft of customer accounts and finances.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2021, the financial services company identified the security breach as having an unidentified foreign entity receiving account information from an undisclosed network and then threatening to penetrate customer accounts.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to reports, an anonymous source acquired links to less than 200 online consumer bank accounts, collected private details, and forged documents of not less than $1 million from all those accounts.

First Horizon Suffers Data Breach

First Horizon Corp didn't say how the attack took place out, only that it fixed a security flaw, implying that the bank's unencrypted software was used in the hack. The firm's first response was to refund the stolen funds, notify authorities, and ask clients to change their passwords.

ADVERTISEMENT

Robert Haynes, software composition analyst and open-source evangelist at application security testing firm Checkmarx Ltd., told SiliconANGLE.

In an interview, a software analyst and open-source evangelist from Checkmarx Ltd., Robert Haynes, stated, “Attackers are adept at finding the weakest link,” he also added, “This is most frequently a human, and often results in phishing or spear-phishing attacks against IT staff, as their credentials are the most useful to an attacker.”

Hackers sometimes take advantage of compromised infrastructure, according to Haynes, mostly in combination with forged information. He added that third-party applications, such as a free VPN or app databases with one-time encryption keys, may have been used in the First Horizon hacking incident.

ADVERTISEMENT

Robert Haynes stated, “Whatever the mechanism of compromise used here, it’s another reminder that all organizations, but especially financial services organizations, need to consider the totality of their attack surface area, from the email security of the most senior company officer down to the smallest software library used in their applications.”

Financial organizations must partner with a reliable access control vendor to put safety barriers and protection mechanisms in place for their customer information and records, as well as provide a strategic planning and recovery plan ready, according to Alexa Slinger, an access control specialist at identity and access management company OneLogin Inc.

“This breach also highlights the need for consumers to be educated on and have access to a form of two-factor authentication to act as an additional layer of security when their credentials are compromised,” Alexa Slinger stated.

No posts to display