It was announced May 28th, 2018 that both CIBC-owned Simplii Financial and Bank of Montreal (BMO) were affected by a data breach, leaving over 90,000 customer accounts vulnerable. Keep reading for everything you need to know about this latest hack.
It was confirmed later that the hackers had threatened to release the data they obtained to criminals if they didn’t receive the 1 million dollar ransom on May 29th at midnight.
BMO released a statement stating they took steps immediately after the incident occured and are confident that the customer data has been closed off.
BMO will be calling each potentially-impacted customer in the next 24 hours to offer complimentary monitoring, replace cards, ensure all passwords get reset, and determine if there was any financial impact.
— BMO (@BMO) May 28, 2018
CIBC’s Simplii Financial also released a statement saying they were taking steps to address the issue but also urged customers to:
- Always use a complex password and pin (e.g. not 12345)
- Monitor their accounts for signs of unusual activity
We are reaching out to clients who have been affected to offer support. Simplii is extending free credit monitoring to impacted clients and we are committed to returning 100% of any money lost from affected accounts as a result of this issue.
— Simplii Financial (@SimpliiFin) May 30, 2018
Unfortunately, hacks like this are becoming a fact-of-life. They leave victims feeling frustrated and nervous. It is scary to think your information can be stolen without you knowing and often in ways that are out of your control. However there are ways to safeguard yourself:
- Run an up-to-date antivirus – we recommend McAfee because it is a leader in the antivirus industry and they work hard everyday to keep your private life safe and secure. Get a discount on McAfee Total Protection today.
- Update your passwords – we can’t stress this enough. Use strong, unique passwords across every site. We know this is difficult which is why we have a special deal with Dashlane Password Manager for free, it’ll allow you to generate and update your passwords with one click.
- If there is even a chance you have a virus, run a FixMeStick scan – viruses are designed to stay on your system undetected and hide from your antivirus which is why we recommend running FixMeStick once a month to make sure your computer is clean.