CFTC Data Breach Risks Employees’ Social Security Numbers

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission suffered a data breach in May, putting at risk Social Security numbers and personal information of employees of the country’s top derivatives regulator.

A CFTC employee received a “phishing” e-mail on May 21 and input information to a fraudulent website, according to a copy of an e-mail sent to agency employees that described the incident. A third-party was then able to illegally enter the employee’s account, which had access to personnel information, according to the agency’s description of the incident.