Former employee accessed Cash App data, Block admits data breach

In a data breach disclosed by Block, formerly known as Square, a former employee was found to have downloaded unspecified reports pertaining to the company's Cash App Investing that contained information about the company's customers in the United States of America.

According to the company, "While this employee had regular access to these reports as part of their past job responsibilities, in this instance these reports were accessed without permission after their employment ended," according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on April 4. (SEC).

Cash App, according to Block, is "the quickest and most convenient way to send money, spend money, save money, and buy cryptocurrency."

Customer full names and brokerage account numbers, as well as brokerage portfolio value and holdings, and stock trading activity for a single trading day, were allegedly downloaded during the breach that occurred last December on December 10, 2021.

Personally identifiable information such as usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, payment card information, addresses, and bank account details were not included in the reports, according to the San Francisco-based company, which stressed this in its filing.

It's unclear how many users were affected by the breach, but Block — which claims to have discovered the incident only recently — has said it will contact approximately 8.2 million current and former customers as part of its response efforts.

Despite this, it's unclear when the breach was discovered or how a former employee of the company was able to gain access to several records containing customer information despite having left the company.

Even as a formal investigation is being carried out, the financial platform stated that it has notified law enforcement and that it "continues to review and strengthen administrative and technical safeguards in order to protect the information of its customers."

In addition, Block stated that "the company does not currently believe that the incident will have a material adverse effect on its business, operations, or financial results."