Fidelity Investments reports data breach affected more than 77,000 customers

Fidelity Investments – one of the world’s largest asset managers – reported that a data breach in August affected the personal information of more than 77,000 clients.

The breach, which occurred between August 17 and 19, 2024, allowed an unauthorized third party to access two customer accounts.

No evidence of data misuse yet

The compromised sensitive information revealed in the incident included customers’ full names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and other personal information, according to a filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

In a letter to its customers reporting the breach, Fidelity assured individuals that while the team is not aware of any misuse of personal information acquired during the event, it is taking proactive steps to protect the financial well-being of its clients.

Fidelity said the breach was detected on August 19, after which the asset manager quickly stopped the unauthorized access and launched an investigation. They also brought in external security experts to assess the situation.

The information accessed by the unauthorized third party concerns a small subset of customers. The popular issuer of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) maintained that this incident did not involve any access to customers’ actual Fidelity accounts.

“We have recently completed our review of the affected information and have determined that the following personal information about you was part of the information recovered. We take this incident and the security of your information very seriously. After detecting this activity, we quickly took action to stop it and resolve this incident.

Fidelity offers free credit monitoring after a breach

As a precautionary measure, Fidelity has arranged for affected customers to sign up for a free credit monitoring and identity restoration service for 24 months.

This service, provided by TransUnion Interactive – a subsidiary of TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies – allows customers to closely monitor their credit reports and detect any unusual activity that could impact their financial situation.

Fidelity’s official website states that the company has $14.1 trillion in assets under administration and $5.5 trillion in assets under management. The asset manager has a team of more than 75,000 associates across 11 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

In August, CryptoPotato reported that Fidelity’s digital asset management division would also explore stablecoins and tokenized treasury products.