Mortgage giant Mr. Cooper hit with cyberattack possibly affecting more than 14 million customers
Written by ABC AUDIO on December 19, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Mortgage and loan giant Mr. Cooper was hit with a cyberbreach that involved “substantially all of our current and former customers” sensitive personal information, according to filings with state and federal regulators.
“The personal information in the impacted files included your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, bank account number,” the company said in a filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office on Monday.
On Oct. 31, 2023, the company noticed “suspicious activity” in certain network systems, according to a federal filing.
“Our forensic review, engagement with law enforcement and regulators, and defense of litigation is ongoing,” the company said in its statement. “Additionally, our forensic review has determined that personal information relating to substantially all of our current and former customers was obtained from our systems during this incident.”
More than 14 million customers could be affected, according to estimates of Mr. Cooper users.
The company says it shut down its systems to contain the incident and to protect customer information.
“Through our investigation, we determined that there was unauthorized access to certain of our systems between October 30, 2023 and November 1, 2023,” the filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office says. “During this period, we identified that files containing personal information were obtained by an unauthorized party.”
Mr. Cooper says it is monitoring the dark web too “and have not seen any evidence that the data related to this incident has been further shared, published, or otherwise misused.”
The company said it’s updating its systems to ensure the breach doesn’t happen again.
“We take our role as a mortgage company very seriously, and there is nothing more important to us than maintaining our customers’ trust. I want you to know how sorry I am for any concern or frustration this may have caused. Making the homeownership journey as smooth as possible is our top priority, and we intend to make this right for our customers,” said Jay Bray, chairman and CEO, Mr. Cooper Group.
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