Capital One Hacker Targeted 30 Companies

Capital One has become just the latest major financial services company to have been hacked.  U.S. prosecutors are now accusing the alleged hacker of not only stealing the personal information of more than 100 million customers and applicants of Capital One, but also stealing data from 30 other companies as well. 

U.S. prosecutors are seeking the detention of Paige Thompson, the alleged hacker for posing a risk to others and to herself. “Thompson has a long history of threatening behavior that includes repeated threats to kill others, to kill herself, and to commit suicide by cop,” said prosecutors. “As a result, the Court should order Thompson detained, both as a danger to the community, and as a risk of non-appearance.”

Prosecutors claim the evidence that Thompson committed the Capital One heist is “overwhelming,” which included personal data on customers like addresses, date of births, and more. In Thompson’s other alleged heists, the stolen data does not seem to contain personal identifying information, but investigations are ongoing. 

The court document also pointed out that the heist may cost Capital One between $100 and $150 million in 2019. Moreover, the bank is now facing more than 40 lawsuits in the United States and eight more in Canada. So far, Capital One’s stock price is down a tenth, lowering its market capitalization by billions of dollars.