On November 14, 2022, Middletown Valley Bank reported a data breach with the Montana Attorney General after the company discovered that an unauthorized party had gained access to files on the bank’s computer network containing sensitive consumer information. According to Middletown Valley Bank, the breach resulted in the following consumer data being leaked: names, financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, and other identifying information that was provided then when applying for products or services. Recently, Middletown Valley Bank sent out data breach letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds.
When you opened up an account or took a loan out from Middletown Valley Bank, you probably didn’t think twice about providing the bank with all your personal information—no one would. However, in light of the recent data breach, the information you gave to the bank may now be in the hands of criminals who plan to use it to commit identity theft and other frauds. As we’ve discussed in other posts, banks and other organizations have a legal duty to care for the information in their possession, which requires they maintain strong data security systems designed to prevent these cyberattacks. And those businesses that fail to ensure the safety of consumer data may be held liable through a data breach lawsuit.
What We Know About the Middletown Valley Bank Data Breach
The information regarding the Middletown Valley Bank breach comes from the Montana Attorney General’s “Reported Data Breach Incidents” web page, which provides a listing of all reported breaches. According to this source, on around October 1, 2022, Middletown Valley Bank learned of a potential data security incident. While the bank doesn’t discuss what led to this determination, in response, it shut down parts of its computer network and launched an internal investigation into the incident.
As a result of this investigation, Middletown Valley Bank learned that an unauthorized party was able to gain access to its computer network on October 1, 2022. The investigation also revealed that some of the files that were accessible to the unauthorized party contained sensitive information related to bank customers.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Middletown Valley Bank began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, financial account numbers, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, and other information provided to the bank for purposes of applying for products or services.
On November 14, 2022, Middletown Valley Bank sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Middletown Valley Bank is a regional bank located in Boonsboro, Maryland. The bank offers its customers the traditional products and services of a financial institution, including personal banking, business banking and residential mortgage services. Middletown Valley Bank operates nine locations throughout Maryland, including in Oakland, Hagerstown, Middletown, Waynesboro, Myersville, Boonsboro and Jefferson. Middletown Valley Bank employs more than 84 people and generates approximately $28 million in annual revenue.
