Thousands of Citi customers at risk after hacker attack

Citigroup Inc said computer hackers breached the bank's network and accessed the data of about 200,000 bank card holders in North America, the latest of a string of cyber attacks on high-profile companies. Citi said the names of customers, account numbers and contact information, including email addresses, were viewed in the breach, which the Financial Times (newspaper operates behind a paywall) said was discovered by the bank in early May.  But like Japanese electronics and entertainment group Sony, which has declared several security breaches of its networks this year, Citi could come under fire for not telling customers sooner. 

Citigroup joins a growing list of companies that have suffered cyber attacks. Data storage firm EMC Ltd this week offered to replace millions of electronic keys after hackers used data from its RSA security division to break into the network of arms supplier and information technology provider Lockheed Martin. Sony has reported several attacks, including one in which hackers accessed the personal information on 77 million PlayStation Network and Qriocity accounts. Google Inc last week revealed a major attack on its Gmail accounts targeting, among others, senior U.S. government officials that it said appeared to originate in China. Citi said it had discovered the unauthorized access at Citi Account Online, an online banking service, through routine monitoring.