Data breach gives hackers access to 1.7 million people’s credit card details: Yikes, another massive cyberattack hits consumers

A major data breach has rocked the payment processing world. Slim CD, a Canadian company that handles credit card transactions, fell victim to hackers. The attack put nearly 1.7 million people’s financial info at risk in both the US and Canada.

The breach went unnoticed for almost a year. Slim CD only spotted something fishy in mid-June 2024. But the hackers had been lurking since August 2023.

The company claims the bad guys only grabbed credit card data for two days. Still, that’s enough time to steal names, card numbers, expiration dates, and addresses. It’s a wake-up call for both businesses and consumers about the ongoing threats to financial data security.

No extra security offered

Slim CD, the payment processing company hit by the data breach, didn’t give much help to affected customers. They didn’t offer any free identity theft protection. Instead, they just told people to watch their own accounts and credit reports.

The company said they made some changes to be more secure. They also told the police about what happened. But they didn’t do much for the people whose info was stolen.

Customers have to protect themselves now.

Slim CD suggested:

  • Checking account statements often
  • Looking at free credit reports
  • Watching for weird activity or mistakes

It’s up to customers to catch any problems early. This puts a lot of work on the people affected by the breach, rather than the company that lost their data.