Wise Data Breach: Personal Information of Customers Potentially Compromised in Evolve Bank and Trust Cyber Attack

Wise Data Breach: Personal Information of Customers Potentially Compromised in Evolve Bank and Trust Cyber Attack
Image credit: Wise website 

Wise, a money transfer and fintech company, announced on Friday that some of its customers' personal data might have been stolen due to the recent data breach at Evolve Bank and Trust. This incident underscores the broader impact of the Evolve breach on third-party companies and their users, with the full extent still unclear and potentially affecting more yet-to-be-identified firms and startups.

Wise, in a statement on its official website, mentioned that it collaborated with Evolve from 2020 to 2023 to provide USD account details. Due to Evolve's recent breach, some Wise customers' personal information may have been compromised. The company is actively investigating and will email affected customers directly. 

The compromised data shared with Evolve includes names, addresses, birth dates, contact details, and Social Security or Employer Identification Numbers for U.S. customers. Non-U.S. customers' information includes another identity document number. A Wise spokesperson confirmed that their systems were not compromised, and customer accounts remain safe.

Image credit: Evolve Bank and Trust 

Evolve Bank and Trust has been working around the clock to address the cybersecurity incident, which was a ransomware attack by the LockBit cybercrime gang caused by an employee clicking on a malicious link in May. Evolve stated that while no customer funds were accessed, criminals did download customer information from databases and file shares during periods in February and May. The company has promised to notify all affected individuals directly.

Several Evolve partners, including Affirm, EarnIn, Marqeta, Melio, and Mercury, are investigating the breach's impact on their customers. Fintech reporter Jason Mikula shared on X a notification from Branch, another Evolve partner, which has yet to respond to TechCrunch's requests for comment.

Evolve spokesperson Eric Helvie referred to the company's official statement, which assures ongoing efforts to respond to the incident and provide further updates.