The personal details of about 106 million individuals across the US and Canada were stolen in a hack targeting Capital One systems, the company has revealed.
The announcement came after the alleged hacker was arrested on Monday.
According to Capital One, the data included names, addresses and phone numbers of people who applied for its credit card products.
But the hacker did not gain access to credit card account numbers, it said.
Capital One said in a statement released on Monday that the breach affected approximately 100 million in the US and 6 million in Canada.
The statement added that about 140,000 social security numbers and 80,000 linked bank account numbers were compromised in the US.
In Canada, about one million social insurance numbers belonging to Capital One credit card customers were also compromised.
The hack was identified on July 19.
Capital One said the hacker was able to “exploit” a “configuration vulnerability” in the company’s infrastructure.
They added that it is unlikely the information was used for fraud but they would continue to investigate the breach.
The hacker managed to obtain personal information from applicants for credit cards, including credit scores, limits, balances, payment history and contact information.
Richard D. Fairbank, chairman and CEO of the company, said in a statement: “While I am grateful that the perpetrator has been caught, I am deeply sorry for what has happened.
“I sincerely apologise for the understandable worry this incident must be causing those affected and I am committed to making it right. “
Capital One will notify those affected and will provide them with free credit monitoring and identity protection.
Source: bbc.com