Nearly 519 million financial records have been stolen by hackers in the past 12 months, with about 439 million of those coming in half that time, an FBI official said Monday, and that's just a rough estimate. The comments came at a cybersecurity event for business leaders in Washington, D.C. An FBI spokesperson told NBC News on Tuesday that these do not represent official figures released by the bureau — but it is no secret that hackers are costing large companies huge sums of money. “We’re in a day when a person can commit about 15,000 bank robberies sitting in their basement,” said Robert Anderson, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Cyber Response and Service branch, according to USA Today. It’s one of many warnings to come from authorities in the aftermath of high-profile attacks on major retailers and financial institutions including Target and Home Depot. Staples announced late on Monday that it was looking into whether its payment card data systems had been breached, and said the company is working with law enforcement.
IN-DEPTH
- Officials Warn 500 Million Financial Records Hacked (USA Today)
- Staples Investigating Possible Payment Card Data Breach
- Apple's iCloud Targeted in Chinese Hacking Attack: Report
— Wendy Jones and Matthew DeLuca