Boston-based Zevin Asset Management recently notified some clients of a breach that began in mid-September 2013. According to a letter dated February 13 signed by their President, Benjamin Lovell:
In mid-September 2013, contrary to Zevin policies, a Zevin employee used an online services provider to host a document listing Zevin’s usernames and passwords for certain of our custodian accounts. While the final version of the document was password-protected, a “test” version inadvertently was not either password-protected or subsequently deleted. Both versions were accessible online (one through use of a secret password, and one without a password) through December 20, 3013. Neither document was part of Zevin’s website, or could be accessed by any link on Zevin’s website.
The letter does not indicate how Zevin first discovered the breach but notes that custodian accounts include personal information such as names, Social Security numbers and/or financial account numbers, and account holdings.
“While UBS information technology personnel have been able to confirm for us that no unauthorized person accessed our UBS custodian account, Folio Institutional has been unable to retrieve log-in information,” Lovell writes. “We have no evidence, however, that any unauthorized person accessed the online documents at issue, and have no evidence that any unauthorized person accessed any of our custodial accounts, or any of your personal information containing therein.”
Clients who wish to avail themselves of the firm’s offer of free credit monitoring services were asked to contact the firm for details.