Hackers have allegedly stolen the details of 30 million Santander customers and are attempting to sell them on the dark web.
The cybercriminal group ShinyHunters is claiming to have information including HR data, bank account details, credit card numbers and account balances.
The hack comes just a day after the group said it had also hacked Ticketmaster, gaining access to more than half a billion customers’ details.
Santander, which employs 200,000 people worldwide, has confirmed the data has been stolen.
It appears the bank was aware of the breach earlier this month, posting a statement online.
It said: ‘Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed.
‘No transactional data, nor any credentials that would allow transactions to take place on accounts are contained in the database, including online banking details and passwords.’
The bank has apologised for ‘the concern this will understandably cause’, and added that it is ‘proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly’.
It also said its banking systems were unaffected and customers could continue to ‘transact securely’.
The hack became more widely known after researchers at Dark Web Informer spotted an advert from ShinyHunters offering the data. They have said it includes 30 million people’s bank account details, six million account numbers and balances, 28 million credit card numbers and HR information relating to staff.
However, Santander has not confirmed whether or not the claims are accurate, and it is not known if individual customers have been contacted alerting them to any data breach.
Cybersecurity firm Hudson Rock has claimed both hacks, Santander and Ticketmaster, could be linked to an ongoing attack on cloud storage company Snowflake.
According to the BBC, Snowflake notified customers on Friday that it was ‘investigating an increase in cyber threat activity targeting some of our customers’ accounts’.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated
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