Revolut facing ransom request after hackers obtain customers’ data
Revolut hackers are threatening to release stolen customer data unless the fintech pays a ransom, after the company inadvertently handed over a trove of users’ private information over the weekend.
The digital banking giant said a “very limited” number of customers were affected by the breach, which compromised data including customers’ identity documents, postal and email addresses, facial verification image and phone numbers.
Customers affected received an email over the weekend that confirmed their account statements, withdrawal records and full transaction histories had also been released.
Revolut was targeted in a “sophisticated external impersonation scam” where hackers used a legitimate government agency email to submit fraudulent requests for information. The company said its core infrastructure, databases and customer accounts had not been breached.
In messages to Morning Wire, the hacker group, calling itself Revolut Smilik, confirmed it is seeking payment from the fintech following the breach. In exchanges on messaging platform Telegram, the group has threatened to release “more and more data everyday”. Several notable figures have already had their data released, according to the messages.
Data watchog has ‘recieved a report’
A Revolut spokesperson said: “Upon detection, we immediately blocked the address and alerted the relevant government agency as well as enforcement agencies, data protection, and financial regulators.”
The company declined to confirm the number of customers that had been affected or comment on the hackers’ request for payment.
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: “We can confirm we have received a report and are assessing the information provided.”
Financial institutions are legally required to comply with official law enforcement or government agency requests for information and customer data. Communications from verified addresses are processed as mandatory legal demands, a source close to the bank said.
The London-based company has more than 80m customers globally and operates across 30 countries. In the last year alone it has secured licences and approvals from regulators in the UK, France, US and UAE.
The firm began a secondary share sale earlier this year that is expected to value it at $115bn.