• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cyber Security Solutions, Compliance, and Consulting Services - IT Security

We offer It security management, data, network, & Information security services for protecting information & mitigating security risks to your organization.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Solutions & Services
    • Security Governance
    • NETWORK SECURITY
    • CLOUD SECURITY
  • COMPLIANCE
  • SECTORS
  • Blog
  • CONTACT

US insurance company has customer data leaked on a forum

By Robert Roohparvar | At January 1, 2021

January 1, 2021

US insurance company has customer data leaked on a forum

People trust insurance companies to be there when they need them most. They’re trusted with sensitive information and data and the users think they will be safe from anything that life throws at them. Well, turns out, not all Insurance companies are trustworthy, even if they seem like they are. 500 GBs worth of customer data was recently found on a Russian hacking site.

Important details about the leak

The company that had the information leaked was USG Insurance Services. They are a national wholesale broker and managing general agent, a company that should be able to keep customer data safe, but failed to do so. 

The leak happened in two parts, the first one on October 27, 2020 and the second one on November 4, 2020. It seems that the first leak happened and the hackers held the second part for ransom, when the company didn’t pay up, they leaked the rest of the data as well.

The leak was around 500 GBs in total, in the entire thing, there were around 5.2 million individual files. Which is a lot! In these files, there’s everything the company had access to. This doesn’t just mean the information about customers accounts in the company, it’s far beyond that. 

In the leaks that are already circulating online, you can see everything. People’s names, addresses, social security numbers of themselves and their spouses, their phone numbers, copies of their driver’s licenses and for a lot of the people, even their account balances. 

What makes this so dangerous is that although you can change your account passwords and even move to a different location, changing your social security number isn’t an easy feat. This leaves the victims of this leak vulnerable for life!

With the entire database uploaded onto the web, not only did the specific forum it was on have access to it, but everyone else did too. Anyone who wanted access to the data could have easily visited the forum and downloaded whichever part they wanted. So there’s no real measure of how far the data might have travelled by now.

Impacts of the leak

Since this leak contained everything one would need to prove their identity, it leaves the victims vulnerable to a series of things. The biggest one being identity theft. A hacker can take all of the information and apply for loans or credit cards, collect their tax returns, benefits and salaries. Use their health insurance, apply for houses and phone numbers and even commit crimes that would end up with the victim having a criminal record, which isn’t quick or easy to get rectified. 

If the hackers don’t want to use this information themselves, they can even list them on the black market and sell it there to people that want access to multiple identities, leaving what they want to do with them, to them. 

What should be the next steps?

In the 500 GB database, each file was around 200 KB in size. If the entire database has similarity sized files, the leak would have affected over 5.2 million files. If you are a current or former customer of  USG Insurance Services, it is highly likely that your data has been leaked. In order to protect yourself going forward,

  1. Watch out for anything suspicious in your accounts by setting up identity theft monitoring.
  2. Read all the emails you receive properly to make sure you don’t end up falling for a phishing attempt. 

Filed Under: Cyber security news

Primary Sidebar

Archives

  • [+]Cloud security (16)
  • [+]Compliance (14)
  • [—]Cyber security news (101)
    • 03 security concerns for low-code and no-code development
    • 04 ways to improve your security posture in 2020
    • 05 ways malware can bypass endpoint protection
    • 11 million stolen records of French users put up for sale online
    • 2 Million Patients’ Data Compromised in Cyber Attack on Shields Healthcare Group
    • 2020: The year that cybersecurity went from reactive to proactive
    • 3 Huge Cyberattacks Show the True Extent of Cyber Crime
    • 30% of SMEs have no data security, says study
    • 4 Cybersecurity trends in 2019
    • 4 Reasons why website security is important
    • 40 Million User Records from Largest Commercial Bank in Ukraine Sold Online
    • 5 Methods to Make Customer Experience Safer
    • 6 Benefits of Cyber Security Automation (2022)
    • 95% of websites risk operating on outdated software with known vulnerabilities
    • All About Data Repository
    • America’s small businesses aren’t ready for a cyberattack
    • Attacker’s phish Office 365 users with fake voicemail messages
    • Attackers impersonate Zoom to steal Microsoft account credentials
    • Can We Rely On Cyber Insurance?
    • Changing Trends in Cybersecurity Training
    • Colonial Pipeline Forced to Pay $4.4m After Ransomware Attack
    • Common types of cybersecurity threats
    • Consumers Must Prioritize Safety Over Convenience
    • Coronavirus Used to Spread Malware
    • Cyber Crime is a Threat to the Energy Sector; Here’s Why
    • Cyber Research: Meta-owned Apps Are Most Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
    • Cybercrime economy is worth $1.5 trillion in illegal profits: study
    • Cybercriminals are Capitalizing on Covid Vaccines to Launch Attacks
    • Cybercriminals are Resorting to Automated Attack Tools
    • Cybercriminals: Threat or Menace?
    • Cybersecurity Challenges for Businesses in 2022
    • Cybersecurity challenges for small businesses
    • Cybersecurity in the Aviation Industry
    • Cybersecurity Trends That CISOs Must Consider in 2022
    • Cybersecurity: Guiding Principles for Board of Directors
    • Data of 1.3 million users leaked in Clubhouse security breach
    • Facebook Messenger Users Fall Victim to Scamming Attacks in Over 80 Countries
    • Five experimental cybersecurity trends your business needs to know about
    • Four major data breaches 2018
    • Four significant changes coming to cybersecurity in 2020 and beyond
    • Hacker Tries to Poison Water Supply of Florida Town
    • Hackers are outpacing defenses, a new report finds
    • Hackers are using famous file sharing services to hack email accounts
    • History of Cybersecurity and Hacking
    • Hospitals are becoming smarter than ever. But so are cybercriminals
    • Hostinger suffers from data breach and resets password for 14 million users
    • How AI can help you stay ahead of cybersecurity threats
    • How does spyware work?
    • How to Check if Your Data Was Leaked in Facebook's Huge Hack
    • HP Printers Are Vulnerable to Hacking
    • Human Error And Chinese Data Security Breach
    • Measures taken by WhatsApp to avoid spam
    • New Act Passed Towards Securing the DHS Software Supply Chain
    • North Korea has been targeting threat researchers
    • One in three organizations suffered data breaches due to mobile devices
    • Phishing in 2020: Another Problem for an Already Difficult Year
    • Predictions of Future Cybersecurity Trends in 2020 and Onwards
    • Property firm cyberattack leaves home movers in the lurch
    • Protect backup from ransomware attacks and recover safely
    • Qbot Banking Malware is back with a new version
    • Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity
    • Retailer Company Hit With Ransomware After Reveling Customer Data
    • Russia-linked gangs attack US critical infrastructure most often
    • Scammers Add an Extra Worry for Travelers Post-COVID
    • School Re-Openings Disturbed by Ransomware Attacks
    • Spyware Pegasus Hacked Thousands of iPhones Globally
    • Supply Chain Cyber Attacks See a Troubling Rise
    • Syniverse Quietly Reveals 5-Year Data Breach
    • The 4 biggest ransomware attacks of the last five years
    • The 6 Biggest Cyberattacks of 2020
    • The Biggest Recent Data Breach Might Have Cost $58 Billion to Resolve
    • The Correlation Between Cyber Insurance and Increasing Cyber Risk
    • The Daixin Team Cybercrime Group Hits Health Organizations With Ransomware, US Agencies Warn
    • The majority of ransomware attacks are targeted at the United States
    • The Next Big Threat: Human Killing Cyberattacks
    • The rise of cryptojacking
    • The shortcomings of centralized server architecture
    • The Top 5 Cyber Security Breaches of 2017
    • Threat or Opportunity? Big Data and Cyber Security
    • Three trends shaking up multi-factor authentication
    • Top Cyber Power Revealed With the US at the Top of the List
    • Top five cybersecurity predictions for 2019
    • Two in three businesses faced insider attacks in 2020
    • Two-factor authentication explained
    • Unsecure Server Compromises 350 Million Emails
    • US insurance company has customer data leaked on a forum
    • US-based auto parts distributor has sensitive data leaked by cybercriminals
    • Use of OSINT tools for security and their functions
    • What is Encryption and its common types
    • What is information security? Definition, principles, and policies
    • What is Magecart? How it works and how to prevent it?
    • What is Typosquatting and How to Stay Safe
    • What the G7 Summit Means for the Future of US-Russia Cybersecurity
    • Which Industries at Higher Risk of Cyber Attacks in 2021
    • Who is Most Vulnerable to Cybercrime: New Report Reveals Surprising Insights
    • Why 2021 Could Witness an Outbreak of Ransomware Attacks
    • Why Cybersecurity Has to Be a CEO Level Matter
    • Why Do Cybercriminals Target Charities?
    • Why You Should be Concerned About How Phishing Attacks are Evolving
    • Will 5G improve mobile security?
    • World’s largest data breaches
  • [+]Cyber security threats (249)
  • [+]Cyber security tips (231)
  • [+]E-Commerce cyber security (3)
  • [+]Enterprise cyber security (2)
  • [+]Financial organizations cyber security (2)
  • [+]General (22)
  • [+]Government cyber security (2)
  • [+]Healthcare cyber security (6)
  • [+]Law Firms Cyber Security (4)
  • [+]Network security (3)
  • [+]Newsletter (1)
  • [+]Ransomware (9)
  • [+]Risk assessment and management (5)
  • [+]Security management and governance (4)
  • [+]Supply Chain Attacks (1)
  • [+]System security (3)
  • [+]Uncategorized (14)
  • [+]Vendor security (10)

Footer

Infoguard Cyber Security

San Jose Office
333 W. Santa Clara Street
Suite 920
San Jose, CA 95113
Ph: (855) 444-6004

Irvine Office
19800 MacArthur Blvd.
Suite 300
Irvine, CA 92612

Recent Posts

  • The Top 5 Email Security Threats
  • The Top 4 Supply Chain Security Threats to Watch Out for in 2023
  • Botnet Attacks: Everything You Want to Know

Get Social

  • LinkedIn
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Solutions & Services
  • COMPLIANCE
  • SECTORS
  • Blog
  • CONTACT

Copyright © 2023