On December 23, 2022, IBW Financial Corporation (“IBW”), the holding company for Industrial Bank, reported a data breach with the Attorney General of Montana after discovering that sensitive consumer information was compromised following what appears to have been a cyberattack committed against the company’s computer network. According to Industrial Bank, the breach resulted in the full names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses or state identification numbers, health insurance information, and financial account information being compromised. Recently, Industrial Bank sent out data breach letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds.
If you have recently held an account at Industrial Bank and the company sent you a data breach letter, your information may have been accessible by an unauthorized party. While there is no telling what the criminals who orchestrated this attack plan to do with your information, as we’ve previously discussed, hackers do not go through the trouble of carrying out these crimes unless there is something in it for them. In most cases, hackers use the information they obtain to commit identity theft and other frauds against victims. Given this reality, it is imperative that you understand how to protect yourself in the wake of a data breach. Additionally, if evidence emerges that IBW Financial Corp. was negligent leading up to the breach, it may entitle you to financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
What We Know About the Industrial Bank Data Breach/h2>
The available information regarding the Industrial Bank breach comes from the company’s filing with the Montana Attorney General. According to this source, on September 30, 2021, IBW became aware that an employee email account had been compromised. While the company did not reveal how an unauthorized party was able to gain access to the employee’s email account, in response, Industrial Bank began working with a third-party data security specialist to investigate the incident and determine what, if any, consumer information was compromised as a result.
The Industrial bank investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to access certain files contained on its computer network on September 30, 2021 and that some of these files contained confidential information belonging to certain customers.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Industrial Bank began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license or state identification number, health insurance information, and financial account information.
On December 23, 2022, Industrial Bank sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident. At this point, there is no indication of how many people were affected by the Industrial Bank data breach.
More Information About IBW Financial Corporation
Founded in 1934, IBW Financial Corporation is a holding company for Industrial Bank, which is a financial institution based in Washington, D.C. Industrial Bank offers a variety of services, including checking and savings accounts, mortgage loans, credit cards and various savings instruments. Industrial Bank operates eight branches, including three in Washington, D.C., as well as in Oxon Hill, MD; Forestville, MD; Halsey Street, NJ; Harlem, NY; and Newark, NJ. Industrial Bank employs more than 128 people and generates approximately $34 million in annual revenue.
