Banco Santander has today confirmed an incident affecting a Santander database hosted by a third party provider.
Certain information had been accessed about Santander customers in Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former employees of the Santander group. The bank notes that its operations and systems are not affected.
The full statement can be read below:
“We recently became aware of an unauthorized access to a Santander database hosted by a third party provider. We immediately implemented measures to contain the incident, including blocking access to the compromised database and putting in place additional fraud prevention controls to protect affected customers.
Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that they had access to certain information relating to Santander clients in Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group. Customer data in all other Santander markets and businesses is not affected.
The database does not contain transaction data, nor account credentials, including bank details and online passwords. The bank’s operations and systems are not affected, so customers can continue their transactions safely.
We apologize for the concern this will understandably cause and are proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly. We have also informed regulatory and law enforcement authorities and will continue to work closely with them.”