New York • Citigroup Inc. has become the latest victim in a string of high-profile data thefts by hackers targeting some of the world’s best-known companies.
The New York bank said that 200,000 Citibank credit card customers in North America had their names, account numbers and email addresses stolen by hackers who broke into Citi’s online account site.
The breach comes after data attacks in recent weeks have struck at companies that included Internet search leader Google Inc., defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp, and media and electronics company Sony Corp.
Citigroup said it discovered that account information for about 1 percent of its credit card customers had been viewed by hackers. Citi has more than 21 million credit card customers in North America, according to its 2010 annual report. The bank, which discovered the problem during routine monitoring, said it was contacting those customers.
The bank said hackers weren’t able to gain access to Social Security numbers, birth dates, card expiration dates or card security codes. That kind of information often leads to identity theft, where cyber criminals empty out bank accounts and apply for multiple credit cards. That can debilitate the finances and credit of victims. Citi customers could still be vulnerable other problems. Details about their bank accounts and financial information linked to them could be acquired using the email information and account numbers hackers stole.
