TD Ameritrade had data leak

Well, it’s not the first time a company I’ve done business with has sent me a note saying their systems had been compromised, but the wording on the e-mail from TD Ameritrade saying they’d had a data leak was interesting.

TD Ameritrade launched the investigation in the aftermath of some customers’ complaints that they’d received spam email. In the course of the investigation, the company said it discovered and eliminated unauthorized code that allowed an external source to retrieve certain client information from the database in question.

What that means, in layman’s terms, was that their system got infected with a virus or someone installed industrial-grade spyware on their servers or workstations. That program then sat there funneling e-mail addresses and the like to some distant reception point and that info was used to spam people. Fortunately, those people knew enough to know where the spam must’ve gotten their info from and made the complaints that started the investigation.

If you have a TD Ameritrade account, be sure to remain vigilant about your account and in responding to any supposed mass-mailings from the company.