JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)’s latest information reveals a staggering number of compromised accounts as a result of the biggest ever breach

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By Chris Hillman on October 3, 2014 Company

Recent hackings into the security systems of some of the biggest names in the world have created a huge uproar among consumers. JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) was no exception. According to the latest information disclosed by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), 7 million small businesses and 76 million households have become hacking targets. The bank claims that financial information of its customers remained secure from the hackers. According to different sources, hackers were able to break into JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)’s servers by gaining access at an administrative level. However it is being said that no data has been stolen so far even though hackers had a field day with the servers. It is believed that as many as 90 servers were compromised.

The entire hacking incident was a month long event that started back in June earlier this year and was finally discovered by JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) in July. The news was made public in August when the bank initially thought only 1 million user accounts were targeted. However latest data that was reported on Thursday claims that the number was way higher (as mentioned above).

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) did not organize any press conference to share the news instead the latest information was entered into an SEC filing, which was later discovered by different sources.

One of the conspiracy theories claims that Russians were behind the hacking and it wasn’t an attempt to just steal information; it goes beyond that. JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) on the other hand says that important information such as financial details, Social Security Numbers and passwords etc. remained safe. The main target was general information such as home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Only time will tell how true this claim is.

As far as ranking by assets is concerned JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) is the country’s largest bank. It is currently collaborating with Secret Service and FBI to get to the source of the attack.

There is no doubt about the fact that this hack is one of the biggest ever. It seems this is an attack of the same nature that targeted retailers Home Depot and Target.

The number revealed by JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) is so huge that there is a possibility that almost all 28 million limited scale businesses and 120 million household in the US have been compromised as a result of this attack.

Brian Krebs, who is a security expert, believes that these hackers are too strong and just can’t be contained. The only thing organizations can do is to hope that the damage is not too intense; however in case of JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) the one month duration of the attack is too long and only time will tell how much loss the bank has suffered.

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said a few months ago that JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) has set aside a sum of $250 million (on an annual basis) to strengthen its cyber security. He said that around 1000 employees were dedicated to look after the bank’s systems.

After the latest information was released the bank’s shares took a dip by 0.89% in trading’s after hours. However JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) opened today at a value of $59.25 and at 10:23 am EDT was trading at $59.98.