Pathward, N.A.

The Maine Office of the Attorney General disclosed a data breach affecting Pathward, N.A. on October 4, 2023, initially detected on July 12, 2023. The incident stemmed from an external system breach (hacking), compromising the sensitive personal information of 793,626 individuals, including 3,369 Maine residents. Exposed data included names, Social Security numbers, and financial account numbers, posing severe risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and long-term reputational damage. The breach’s scale and the nature of the leaked information—critical for financial and personal identification—highlight systemic vulnerabilities in Pathward’s cybersecurity defenses. The exposure of such high-value data not only undermines customer trust but also subjects the affected individuals to prolonged threats of exploitation by cybercriminals. Regulatory scrutiny and potential legal repercussions are likely, given the sensitivity of the compromised records and the breach’s broad impact across multiple jurisdictions.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/21df7004-999d-4dfd-bbdd-e9ea4431c2e8.shtml

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/pathward

"id": "pat222090625",
"linkid": "pathward",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "5/2023",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '793,626 (including 3,369 Maine '
                                              'residents)',
                        'industry': 'Banking/Financial Services',
                        'location': 'United States',
                        'name': 'Pathward, N.A.',
                        'type': 'Financial Institution'},
                       {'industry': 'Legal/Regulatory',
                        'location': 'Maine, United States',
                        'name': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General',
                        'type': 'Government Agency'}],
 'attack_vector': 'External System Breach (Hacking)',
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': '793,626',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'Numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
                                              'Information (PII)',
                                              'Financial Data']},
 'date_detected': '2023-07-12',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-10-04',
 'description': 'The Maine Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving Pathward, N.A. The breach, discovered on '
                'July 12, 2023, was due to an external system breach (hacking) '
                'affecting 793,626 individuals, including 3,369 Maine '
                'residents. The breach exposed sensitive personal information, '
                'including names, Social Security numbers, and financial '
                'account numbers.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Names',
                                 'Social Security Numbers',
                                 'Financial Account Numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (PII and financial data exposed)',
            'payment_information_risk': 'High (financial account numbers '
                                        'exposed)'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-10-04',
                 'source': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Maine Office of the '
                                                        'Attorney General']},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure via Maine Attorney '
                                        'General'},
 'title': 'Pathward, N.A. Data Breach (2023)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}