Popular investing app Robinhood , known for its association with GameStop earlier on Monday stated that the trading application suffered a security breach on November 3 where hackers were able to access personal information of about 7 million users. The hackers also demanded a ransom payment.

The company said that it believes no Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or card numbers have been compromised because of the breach.

This has been a busy year for Robinhood following the major part played by them in short squeeze of GameStock stock with investors collectively buying the stocks to punish those who had predicted the opposite. This caught attention of the congress and resulted in a five-hour hearing where questions were asked if the company was beneficial for the investors. The company later in July filed to go public and the data breach just comes barely three months after its public offering. This incident comes at a time where T Mobile in September and twitch in October faces similar data breaches.

The largest part of the breach includes email address of 5 million customers, with full names leaked for separate 2 million customers. A press release also indicates that 310 people have their names, zip codes, date of birth leaked. About 10 customers have some more extensive account details leaked. The company is already in process of contacting people affected by the breach. Caleb Sima, Robinhood’s chief security officer, said in the company’s statement, “As a Safety First company, we owe it to our customers to be transparent and act with integrity.”

The hackers had access to a tool that helped them to alter user accounts as per a screenshot obtained by motherboard

The tool allowed the hackers to delete multi-factor authentication but Robinhood claimed o changes were made. In an email to Motherboard, a Robinhood spokesperson said that “Certain authorized Robinhood employees have the ability to update accounts as necessary to provide customer support or service accounts, as is standard at most financial institutions and platforms.”

Tips for amateur investors in view of Robinhood data breach

 

• Do not over share personal information

With the increase digitalisation in the world , it is easier to find personal information about an individual on the web. Make sure only share information that is absolutely required

• Avoid hacking fatigue

In view of latest data breachers it is believed that data is out there and there is very little we can do about it. But creating long and complex passwords or using a password manager can go a long mile.

• Earn the right to invest

Investors should have a strong foundation and a good knowledge of what they are investing in before they start

• Stick to the fundamentals

No matter what application you are using to invest your money the fundamentals remain same. Understanding the cash management , controlling the cash flow , supporting the emergency funding  and understanding the goals. Sticking to the fundamentals can provide you with more success over making spontaneous moves in the market.