Yahoo Finance LendingTree (TREE) Arm's Client Data Auctioned Online by Hackers
LendingTree, Inc.’s TREE subsidiary, QuoteWizard, has fallen victim to a cybercrime, where hackers have stolen confidential customer data. The news comes after the company discovered unauthorized access on a cloud database hosted by Snowflake Inc. Per Bloomberg’s report, these data are now being sold to the highest bidder on cybercriminal forums.
TREE’s executive, Megan Greuling, mentioned, “We take these matters seriously, and immediately after hearing from them we launched an internal investigation.”
LendingTree is currently looking into the extent and scope of the theft, although the attack has not affected its business operations.
TREE uses Snowflake’s cloud data analytics services for its business operations. Per Google’s Mandiant security business, a hacker’s group had used stolen login credentials to infiltrate Snowflake accounts of nearly 165 customers, this proposes a broader hacking operation against Snowflake clients.
LendingTree’s officials said, “The breach didn’t affect information linked to the parent company or financial account information of QuoteWizard customers.”
Arun Sankaran, LendingTree’s chief information security officer, stated, “This is an ongoing investigation, and as soon as that investigation is complete, we will notify all the impacted customers.”
Over the past six months, shares of TREE have gained 30.9% against the industry’s decline of 6.8%.
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Currently, TREE carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Data Breach by Banks
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. MUFG units are under investigation by Japan’s securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (“SESC”), for compromising its clients' confidentiality by bypassing firewalls between the bank's operations.
SESC mentioned that MUFG Bank Ltd., Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. shared confidential customer details on at least 10 occasions to attract more business. The exchange breached the regulatory firewalls that were established to prevent commercial and investment banking units from sharing client data.
Wells Fargo & Company WFC has been facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the bank for taking part in a $300 million Ponzi scheme. This scheme affected more than 1,000 investors, mainly senior citizens, and left them without substantial life savings.
The lawsuit filed stated that WFC knew about the fraudulent activities from 2011 to 2021. The company provided substantial assistance to the perpetrators while reaping the benefits from the scam.
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