Data breach exposes driver's license info of nearly 7M Americans
What's the story
AssuranceAmerica, a leading insurance provider in the US, has suffered a major data breach. The incident has exposed the personal information and driver's license numbers of 6.9 million people. This is the largest known leak of Americans' driver license information this year. AssuranceAmerica offers car and rental insurance across more than a dozen US states.
Incident overview
Hackers accessed personal information, auto insurance details
The company discovered the breach on March 17, when hackers infiltrated its computer systems. An investigation was launched and concluded on June 15, revealing that the attackers had stolen customer names, contact information, and driver's license numbers. The hackers also accessed information related to customers' auto insurance policies and accounts as well as details about their drivers and vehicles.
Mitigation measures
How the breach occurred remains unclear
AssuranceAmerica has not disclosed how the breach occurred, but it did say that the hackers targeted one of its employees. The company has since disabled compromised credentials. It has also taken steps to mitigate the damage, including disabling affected server devices, resetting passwords, alerting law enforcement agencies, and deploying advanced monitoring and threat detection software.
Impact assessment
Class-action lawsuit considered on behalf of affected customers
The breach has affected nearly seven million people, with notification letters scheduled to be sent on July 10. South Carolina and Texas were among the hardest-hit states, affecting over 600,000 and 500,000 residents, respectively. A law firm is already considering a class-action lawsuit on behalf of customers affected by this breach.
Security concerns
Breach follows similar incident in Texas state government
The breach at AssuranceAmerica comes amid a spate of data leaks involving documents such as driver's licenses and other government-issued IDs. Last month, the Texas state government revealed that hackers stole information about at least three million driver license and passport numbers in a breach affecting its parks and the wildlife division.