Dow Jones: We were hacked, client data exposed

“To date, our extensive review has not uncovered any direct evidence that information was stolen, and we have taken steps to stop the unauthorized access”.

The CEO of Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has released a statement confirming that the company’s subscriber database was the target of a hack.

In a letter to its customers, Dow Jones chief executive William Lewis acknowledged the breach and said it was notifying people “out of an abundance of caution”.

What the investigation has revealed thus far is the possible compromise of “payment card and contact information of fewer than 3,500 individuals” who could have been accessed, according to statement. “We understand that this incident was likely part of a broader campaign involving a number of other victim companies”, Lewis wrote.

Based on the investigation, Dow Jones, a unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, said there was unauthorized access to its systems at certain times between August 2012 and July 2015. As was the case with Dow Jones, Scottrade wasn’t aware of any problems prior to law enforcement notification. Once again, the attackers were targeting contact information. It is not, however, recommending that users in general update their account passwords for Dow Jones services.

Lewis’ lettersaid there is no evidence any information hasbeen stolen. The company, fearing the breach may lead to fraudulent solicitations, urged customers to not respond to suspicious emails as well as calls or emails that say they may be from the company.