Midwest Bank Hacked, Damage Limited

Intrusion Detected Early; Accounts Scrutinized for Fraud

See Also: DORA Key Provisions and Best Practices

Commerce Bank N.A., a regional bank operating in five Midwest states, last week fended off a criminal hack into one of its customer databases, but only a handful of customer records were taken.

According to the bank, the customer information was revealed when a hacker compromised a database with 3,000 records and accessed information belonging to 20 customers. Bank officials said in an Oct. 9 press release that they are contacting those customers who may be affected. Read Commerce Bank's Press Release

“At Commerce Bank, we take the security of our customers' accounts very seriously,” officials said in their statement. “We are carefully and actively monitoring all accounts for fraudulent activity, and we employ sophisticated fraud detection software to review account transactions. We advise all our customers to regularly and carefully monitor their accounts and to contact us immediately if they see any fraudulent charges.”

The hacking was quickly detected and stopped, according to Commerce Bank, which then notified law enforcement. The bank said it was not certain how the hack took place.

Many times hackers will attempt to get into networks through web vulnerabilities on bank websites that then allow them access into the network and bank databases.

(See related story: Bank of India Hack )

Commerce Bank, a Missouri-based company with headquarters in Kansas City and St. Louis, operates in five states: Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado. With over $15.5 billion in assets, Commerce Bank is a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares Inc., a regional bank holding company.