June 09, 2011 - Citigroup Inc said computer hackers breached the bank's network and accessed the data of about 200,000 bank card holders in North America, the latest of a string of cyber attacks on high-profile companies.

Citi said the names of customers, account numbers and contact information, including email addresses, were viewed in the breach, which the Financial Times said was discovered by the bank in early May. However, Citi said other information such as birth dates, social security numbers, card expiration dates and card security codes (CVV) were not compromised. "We are contacting customers whose information was impacted. Citi has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event," Sean Kevelighan, a U.S.-based spokesman, said by email.

In the brief email statement, Citi did not say how the breach had occurred."During routine monitoring, we recently discovered unauthorized access to Citi's Account Online," the New York-based bank said in a statement. "For the security of these customers, we are not disclosing further details."

The bank said that it is contacting customers whose information was affected and that it has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event.