Almost 7 million clients’ personal information was copied after hackers infiltrated the system using company employees’ credentials before being discovered a day later; they are now alerting policyholders and advising them to remain wary of contacting financial institutions as imposters may be using the stolen information to impersonate them
Company officials stated that the information acquired from the breach includes customer’s name, address, social security numbers, driver license numbers, tax ID numbers, insurance policies, and claims history.
South Carolina, for instance, has over 611,000 customers affected by the data theft, making it the state with the most affected people.
The security analysts note that the exposure of personal information such as social security and driver’s license numbers increases the risk of identity theft since the stolen data provides an avenue for thieves to open credit accounts in someone’s name, take out loans, submit fraudulent taxes, circumvent identification processes, and even more.
Edelson Lechtzin LLP law firm, which is investigating the exposure case, reports that the collected data can offer a wide window for committing financial fraud crimes against the unsuspecting ones.
Though the company responded promptly to the issue by taking down their systems after discovering the unusual activity in their network on March 17th, the day after the cyberattack, customers were not notified of what occurred until mid-June, nearly 3 months later.
According to the insurer’s report, the review of the compromised data concluded on June 15th, days before the customers were informed of what happened, which prompted consumer advocates to criticize the sluggish response by AssuranceAmerica.
Furthermore, even though the company asserts that it has reinforced its system and reminded workers of the importance of cybersecurity awareness, it has not stated whether the affected people will be offered free credit monitoring or other services to guarantee their safety.
The current case comes at a time when there has been a series of data breaches involving the exposure of people’s identities, with hackers targeting government-issued credentials such as licenses and passports.
The attacks have been recorded in various industries, including the hospitality, finance, government, and technology sectors, and put every citizen at risk as their personal information is stored in numerous places.
For instance, the individuals in the states affected by the breach should remain extra cautious when dealing with financial services, whether online or not, and apply for a security alert for their credit reports to help detect unauthorized applications for credit. They can also turn to their respective state attorney’s office to get more significant help.
The AssuranceAmerica incident is a sobering reminder that the most effortless way to protect oneself is by changing passwords after such an occurrence, especially since other measures such as social security or driver’s license numbers may take longer to replace if they get into the wrong hands.
