HSBC was affected by a major hack in October 2018, unveiled this week by the company. The hack only affected 1% of the entire bank’s client base. The bank has started to contact all those impacted by the news. The company announced:

“HSBC regrets this incident, and we take our responsibility for protecting our customers very seriously,” the bank said in a statement. We have notified those customers whose accounts may have experienced unauthorised access, and are offering them one year of credit monitoring and identify theft protection service.”

According to security experts, the hack seems to be a “credential surfing” hack, a process that harvests personal data to gain unauthorised access. The company has setup a website to help customers affected by the news along with the wider press. The US regulators have also been informed and will begin their own preliminary investigation.