Pacific City Bank (PCB), one of the largest Korean American banks in the US, has confirmed that it was the victim of a ransomware attack.
The bank has informed customers about a security breach it identified on August 30, 2021, which it claims it dealt with immediately.
“PCB responded promptly to disable the activity, investigate its source and monitor PCB’s network. PCB subsequently became aware of claims that it had been the target of a ransomware attack. On September 7, 2021, PCB determined that an external actor had illegally accessed and/or acquired certain data on its network,” the bank said in a statement.
Pacific City Bank added that it has been working with third-party forensic investigators to understand the nature and scope of the incident and to determine what information may have been accessed and/or acquired and who may have been impacted.
Investigations revealed that this incident impacted certain files containing certain PCB customer information. These files contained documents related to loan applications, such as tax returns, Form W-2 information of their employees, and payroll records. The bank told affected customers that their information was included as part of the supporting documentation of their employer’s loan application.
The bank said that personal information impacted may include some or all the following personal information, such as a customer’s name, address, Social Security Number, and wage and/or tax information.
RELATED RESOURCE
The best defence against ransomware
How ransomware is evolving and how to defend against it
It is not known how many of the bank’s customers have been affected by the breach, which the company confirmed has been reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the security of information in our care, we have conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and are continuing to monitor our systems’ security. In addition, we are working to review our existing policies and procedures, including our information security plan, to evaluate additional measures and safeguards to protect against this type of incident in the future,” the bank added.
The bank is also offering customers free credit monitoring services for a year as well as identity theft protection. Customers can also request a “security freeze” on the credit file by sending a request in by writing.
-
‘I take pleasure in thinking I can rid society of at least some of them’: A cyber vigilante is dumping information on notorious ransomware criminals – and security experts say police will be keeping close tabsNews An anonymous whistleblower has released large amounts of data allegedly linked to the ransomware gangs
-
It's been a bad week for ransomware operatorsNews A host of ransomware strains have been neutralized, servers seized, and key players indicted
-
Everything we know about the Peter Green Chilled cyber attackNews A ransomware attack on the chilled food distributor highlights the supply chain risks within the retail sector
-
Scattered Spider: Who are the alleged hackers behind the M&S cyber attack?News The Scattered Spider group has been highly active in recent years
-
Ransomware attacks are rising — but quiet payouts could mean there's more than actually reported
News Ransomware attacks continue to climb, but they may be even higher than official figures show as companies choose to quietly pay to make such incidents go away.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolen – and security experts say it won't be the lastNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
‘Phishing kits are a force multiplier': Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25 – and experts warn it’s lowering the barrier of entry for amateur hackersNews Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Healthcare systems are rife with exploits — and ransomware gangs have noticedNews Nearly nine-in-ten healthcare organizations have medical devices that are vulnerable to exploits, and ransomware groups are taking notice.
