Data Security Incident

A data security incident arising from a ransomware (system shut down) attack occurred on Saturday, March 14. The JN Group Information Technology and Cybersecurity teams immediately acted to contain the effects of the malware (scamming software) and sought to identify the source of the attack.

The police and other security agencies were immediately contacted and have been investigating the matter, and the investigations are continuing.

The data security and privacy of our members and customers are of great importance to us; therefore, we have already taken several measures to reduce the possibility of this happening again.

Although investigations are ongoing, we have taken several measures to prevent this from happening again. As required by law, we have advised the regulatory agencies in all countries in which we operate. Additionally, we have:

• Notified the Police and security agencies locally and overseas
• Appointed a specialist IT security provider to investigate the incident
• Advised relevant banks
• Advised our credit card supplier, which is doing enhanced monitoring of credit card transactions
• Undertaken a complete review of our IT systems to further strengthen our systems
• Implemented a special toll-free phone line to support customers who may have queries
• Established a process to help customers through this period, which could include credit correction and identity protection services, such as LifeLock and Identity Force, for a period of one year.

As this incident involved criminal activity, it is the subject of a police investigation, therefore, we are unable to provide further information at this time. However, please be assured that we will be providing full support to members and customers who have been affected.

Most of our main operations have been restored and most services are being offered in our branches. This includes our JN Bank ATM and debit card services across the country. Our JN LIVE Personal online banking and JN FUnd Managers online faciliity was restored on March 22. The JN Money Online remittance platform remains unavailable at this time.

Please be assured that no member or customer will lose any money from this cyber (scam) incident. Your money is safe and protected by JN Bank. We continue to uphold the highest standards and maintain best practices to ensure that your money is secure.

We encourage members and customers to:

• Check that all transactions on your account(s) are known to you. We anticipate that our online banking portal, JN LIVE, will be back online shortly.  Review your bank accounts regularly and contact the bank if you see any transactions that you do not recognise. If you do, please contact us at: wecare@jngroup.com or call 876-968-5096 or 876 960 5508.
• Be suspicious if anyone contacts you by email, phone call or text message asking you to confirm your personal details. We remind you that JN will never contact you to ask for any personal details relating to your bank accounts or passwords.
• Use different passwords for different online accounts

Our investigation suggests that it is possible that personal information could have been taken by the cyber criminal (scammer).  However, at this time, we have no indication that this information has been used for criminal purposes.

We have elected to notify all of our JN Group members and customers, out of an abundance of caution, by way of emails and letters.

At this point, we are not able to say.

We are notifying you about this incident because your personal information may have been accessed by someone not authorized to do so. We also wanted to alert you to the incident out of an abundance of caution, so that you could take appropriate steps to safeguard yourself from any potential misuse of your information.

Security and confidentiality are extremely important to us. We have been working hard to notify you as quickly as possible.  Prior to notification, it was necessary to ensure that the incident had been contained, and that there was no further risk of access or disclosure.

It took time to review all the information that could have been accessed, and we wanted to be sure that no issues were overlooked.  Once we knew, we immediately contacted our members to confirm the type and nature of information that may have been accessed.

We also wanted to ensure that we had the appropriate responses in place, including securing access to credit monitoring services, and the creation of the necessary infrastructure, such as this Call Centre, so that we could best respond to your concerns.

This is a criminal matter, which is subject to investigation, and we are working with law enforcement organisations who have been guiding us in relation to the timing and specifics of the information to be shared, so as to not interfere with their investigations.

We don’t know specifically what has been affected, but we believe that information that may have been taken could include:

• The name and branch at which you opened an account;
• The type of account that you opened;
• Your personal customer information form;
• Proof of address;
• Proof of employment;
• Copy identification documents;
• Copy birth certificate;
• Character reference details;

There is also the possibility that for some customers, credit card details could have been affected.

The credit monitoring services include:

• 24/7 monitoring to alert you of any unusual or fraudulent activity
• Internet scanning to detect if your information is available on the internet (dark web)
• Access to an identity theft restoration services if you have been a victim of identity theft.

From the services of the credit monitoring agencies and by monitoring the information in your account.

We encourage members and customers to:

• Check that all transactions on your account(s) are known to you. Our online banking Personal portal, JN LIVE, is now back online.  Review your bank accounts regularly and contact the bank if you see any transactions that you do not recognise. If you do see any unusual transactions, please contact us at: wecare@jngroup.com or call 876-968-5096 or 876 960 5508.
• Be suspicious if anyone contacts you by email, phone call or text message asking you to confirm your personal details. We remind you that JN will never contact you to ask for any personal details relating to your bank accounts or passwords.
• Use different passwords for different online accounts and change these regularly.

No, it is not a cam.  This is an official statement from JN Group sent by our email.  Out of an abundance of caution, we believed it was necessary to advise you of the incident.  (Agent to request details of letter received – basic questions about the letter, date of receipt, how they got it, etc. – sample letter will be shared with agents)

1. What about money transfers sent via JN Money

JN Money is unaffected, however, the new web service, JN Money Online, has been affected and we expect that it will be restored by Monday, March 23.

Customers who have received money transfers via their JN Money Cards may continue to withdraw their funds at a JN ATM, or an ATM with the Multilink logo. The JN Money card may also be used like a debit card at point-of-sale locations. The funds can be sent to their cards from JN Money branches and agent locations.

2. How do I make my JN Small Business loan payment?

JN Small Business Loans has not been affected and clients can continue to make payments via JN Bank and Dropbox in all branches.

3. Has JN General Insurance been affected?

JN General Insurance has not been affected.  Clients can continue to request claims and renew insurance via JNGI Online.  JNGI offices across the island remain open for walk-in business, Monday – Friday, 10 am to 3pm.

4. I do business with JN Fund Managers.  Was my account affected?

JN Fund Manager’s client accounts were not affected.