Fidelity confirms over 77,000 customers exposed in data breach

Giant asset management company Fidelity Investments announced this week that it detected a data breach in August that affected over 77,000 customers.

In a Wednesday filing, Fidelity explained officials said that unnamed actors accessed system information connected to the accounts of 77,099 users between Aug. 17 and Aug. 19. The company said the unauthorized outside party gained access to the accounts through new accounts they had recently opened.

“We detected this activity on August 19 and immediately took steps to terminate the access,” the filing reads. “An investigation was promptly launched with assistance from external security experts. The information obtained by the third party related to a small subset of our customers.”

Fidelity clarified that no customer accounts or funds were affected by the breach, but has not detailed the kind of data that was compromised in the breach.

Fidelity has also not revealed how the hackers gained access to company systems by opening two personal accounts.