In fresh days, the Polish financial sector has been shaken by information about the massive data leak of leading bank clients specified as mBank, Alior Bank and Santander Bank. delicate information, including detailed banking operations and individual data, was made available on a publically available docer platform. This is simply a serious breach of privacy that can lead to fraud, identity theft and another threats to injured customers.
How did the leak happen?
The incidental was revealed thanks to the vigilance of 1 of the users of the dig.pl portal, which accidentally came across papers containing delicate data. His findings were shared with cybersecurity experts from the dangerous service.pl, who confirmed the authenticity of the papers found. The analysis indicates that credit intermediaries or institutions cooperating with banks and not banks themselves may be the origin of the leak. Santander Bank in an interview with money.pl stressed that the incidental was not related to the banking infrastructure, suggesting that the data could have been disclosed by external entities specified as financial advisors. A akin position was taken by Alior Bank, who announced the filing of the case with the individual Data Protection Office and the implementation of additional safeguards.
Scope of the disclosed data
The published papers include not only client names but besides detailed bank transaction reports, account numbers and even credit-related documents. specified a combination of information poses a immense hazard to victims as it can be utilized by criminals to impersonate financial institutions and carry out phishing attacks. Additionally, ID scans, driving licenses, credit and notarial contracts, and even perpetual books were found on the docker. The public availability of specified papers poses a serious threat to citizens' privacy and security.
How do I check if your data has been disclosed?
Those afraid by the anticipation of leaking their data should take the following steps:
- Verification of the presence of data: Search the docer service by entering your name into the search engine. If you find papers containing your data, contact the service administration immediately to delete them.
- Contact with the bank: If your data has been disclosed, delight inform your bank. The institution may take additional safety measures, specified as monitoring different transactions or changing authentication data.
- Incident notification: Notify the individual Data Protection Office and local law enforcement authorities of the situation.
How do you defend yourself from possible threats?
To minimise the hazard of data leakage, it is recommended to:
- Monitoring of bank accounts: Regularly check transaction past for unauthorized operations.
- Caution towards suspicious messages: Avoid clicking on links from unknown sources and do not share your individual data by telephone or e-mail, even if you are a bank representative.
- Strengthening safeguards: usage strong, unique net banking passwords and include two-component authentication (2FA).
- Reservation of PESEL: You can do this through a government website, which will make it hard for criminals to commit financially to your data.
- Regular checking of credit reports: usage Credit Information Office (BIK) services to detect possible unauthorized liabilities.
- Avoid retention of delicate data in the cloud: Especially on platforms with uncertain safety levels.
Studies are presently underway to find the full scale of the spill and its possible effects. The docer service administration has begun the process of deleting unauthorized files, but it is not certain that the data was not previously downloaded by unauthorized persons. Bank customers should be peculiarly careful in the close future, especially with respect to attempts to extort data via telephone or email.
More here:
Giant data leak of Polish banks customers. Check that your data is safe
