Robinhood Data Breach Impacted Millions of Users — Here's How the Extortion Attempt Affects You

A hacker exposed personal information for millions of Robinhood users.

Popular stock trading app Robinhood recently experienced a security breach that exposed the personal information of millions of users. While most Robinhood users—and their investments—are safe, there are still important steps you should take to keep your accounts and personal data secure.

What was stolen in the Robinhood security breach?

In an official blog post, the company says the attack took place on November 3, when an “unauthorized third party” used social engineering to gain access to a portion of the app’s customer support system. Robinhood’s security team successfully secured the compromised database, but the lone hacker then demanded an extortion payment. Robinhood reported the attack to the authorities and to the third-party cybersecurity firm Mandiant instead of complying with the hacker’s demands.

According to Robinhood’s internal investigation, the breach compromised the email addresses for at least five million accounts and the full names of an additional two million users. Of the compromised accounts, at least 310 also had their zip codes and date of birth information accessed, and 10 users had “extensive account details revealed.” READ MORE