Fintech Ransomware Attack Sparks Data Breach Alerts at US Banks

Fintech company Marquis is notifying dozens of U.S. banks and credit unions that they had customer data stolen in a cyberattack earlier this year.

Details of the cyberattack emerged this week after Marquis filed data breach notices with several U.S. states confirming its August 14 incident as a ransomware attack.

Texas-based Marquis is a marketing and compliance provider that allows banks and other financial institutions to collect and visualize all of their customer data in one place. The company counts more than 700 banking and credit union customers on its website. As such, Marquis has access to and stores large amounts of data belonging to consumer banking customers across the United States.

At least 400,000 people are so far confirmed affected by the data breach, according to legally required disclosures filed in the states of Iowa, Maine, Texas, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire that TechCrunch has reviewed.

Texas has the largest number of state residents so far who had data stolen in the breach, affecting at least 354,000 people.

Marquis said in its notice with Maine’s attorney general that banking customers with the Maine State Credit Union accounted for the majority of its data breach notifications, or around one-in-nine people who are known to be affected throughout the state.

The number of individuals affected by the breach is expected to rise as more data breach notifications roll in from other states.

Marquis said the hackers stole customer names, dates of birth, postal addresses, and financial information, such as bank account, debit, and credit card numbers. Marquis said the hackers also stole customers’ Social Security numbers.

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According to its most recent notices, Marquis blamed the ransomware attack on hackers who exploited a vulnerability in its SonicWall firewall. The vulnerability was considered a zero-day, meaning the flaw was not known to SonicWall or its customers before it was maliciously exploited by hackers.

Marquis did not attribute the ransomware attack to a particular group, but the Akira ransomware gang was reportedly behind the mass-hacks targeting SonicWall customers at the time.

TechCrunch asked Marquis if it is aware of the total number of people affected by the breach, and if Marquis received any communication from the hackers or if the company paid a ransom, but we did not hear back by the time of publication.