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A hacker illegally entered a D.A. Davidson database that contained private information and Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of clients, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Now company officials are worried the hacker could use the Social Security numbers and other personal information to commit fraud or identity theft.

The electronic intruder gained access to personal information - such as addresses, birth dates and account numbers - on 226,000 current or former clients in late December. But the hacker wasn't able to penetrate the operating system that contains details of assets or recent trades, said company spokeswoman Jacquie Burchard.

“We understand whoever hacked our system used very sophisticated techniques,” she said. “Technology is a moving target. This hacker was very resourceful and persistent.”

The Great Falls-based financial services company has 12 offices in Montana, including Missoula, Dillon, Hamilton, Kalispell and Whitefish.

“I'm sure some of the clients in western Montana are affected,” Burchard said.

Frank D'Angelo said clients have been calling the Missoula office.

“Some of our clients are concerned and many have been faced with similar identity theft issues in the past,” he said. “In general, our clients have been very empathetic on the situation.”

D.A. Davidson President and CEO William Johnstone said the company is aware of the uncertainty and stress the incident has caused.

“We are fully committed to helping our clients deal with this unfortunate event as quickly as possible and are adopting measures to further enhance our network security.”

They've alerted customers by mail and telephone, detailing steps needed to safeguard their identities. The company is also paying for a one-year enrollment to a credit-monitoring service for affected clients.

“There are three key credit reporting bureaus and this helps, essentially, review each of our clients' credit records to see if there are abnormalities,” she said.

She said it took awhile for the company to realize the breach had occurred. They notified authorities in mid-January. Federal investigators asked the company to keep the news confidential in the initial stages of the probe, Burchard said.

She declined to say if investigators were looking into actions of an employee or a client.

The company has tested its technology systems - most recently in September - when experts said they were unable to access computer servers.

Reporter Pamela J. Podger can be reached at 523-5241 or at pamela.podger

@missoulian.com.

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