Lloyds Customers Exposed in Major Data Breach: 500,000 Impacted
Almost half a million Lloyds Banking Group customers had personal information like payments, account details, and national insurance numbers exposed in an IT glitch, according to UK lawmakers.
Lloyds Banking Group exposed the personal data of nearly 500,000 customers in an IT glitch that left people's payments, account details and national insurance numbers visible to other users, a committee of MPs has revealed.
A letter from Lloyds, published by MPs on the Treasury select committee on Friday, blamed the glitch on a software defect introduced during an IT update to its Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland mobile banking apps overnight into 12 March.
The incident marks a major cybersecurity breach for one of the UK's largest financial institutions, potentially exposing sensitive financial and personal information for hundreds of thousands of customers. Lawmakers are now demanding answers from Lloyds on how such a significant data leak occurred and what steps are being taken to prevent future incidents.
According to the letter, the IT issue allowed some customers to view the personal and financial details of other users when accessing their own accounts through the mobile apps. This included access to account balances, recent transactions, and in some cases, individuals' national insurance numbers.
Lloyds said it identified the problem and resolved the issue within 7 hours, but not before the sensitive information of nearly half a million customers had been exposed to potential misuse. The bank claimed there was no evidence of any fraudulent activity as a result of the incident.
The revelation of this major data breach has understandably alarmed consumer groups and financial regulators in the UK. The Treasury select committee chair, Harriett Baldwin, stated that the incident raises
Source: The Guardian
