About 3.7 million customers and employees are impacted by the hacks and cybersecurity issues that have affected three major North American companies: Allianz Life, WestJet, and Motility Software Solutions. Authorities, including the Attorney General of Maine, were notified because it is possible that personal information was compromised.
Some of these incidents involved ransomware, and they are known to as data breaches, which are a form of data stealing.
The lesson is that in the event of a cyberattack, you may be at risk of having your names, addresses, dates of birth, and even Social Security numbers stolen. For this reason, businesses frequently provide credit monitoring and identity protection following an incident as extra protection
What happened and who’s affected
The biggest breach was revealed by Allianz Life. According to the company, 1,497,036 people’s names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers may have been compromised in a breach at an unidentified third-party CRM provider. The letter to those impacted explains how the hackers obtained information about clients, employees, and financial experts.
WestJet acknowledged a hack in June that was possibly connected to Scattered Spider. The airline warned everyone to “exercise additional caution” after the incident interrupted its mobile app and online services at the time. WestJet disclosed that the data of 1.2 million Americans was leaked in a filing to the Attorney General of Maine. The airline stated that the stolen information could change from person to person and that “credit card or debit card numbers, expiration dates and CVV numbers, and guest user passwords, were not compromised, and our systems are fully secure.”
The airline also stated that “the safety and integrity of our operations were never in question at any point.” According to WestJet, its investigation concluded on September 15 and it promptly started informing people.
The Ohio-based Motility Software Solutions was involved in a ransomware incident that affected 766,670 people. The company stated in its filing: “An investigation found that an unauthorized actor deployed malware that encrypted a portion of our systems. Although the malware primarily restricted our access to internal data, the forensic evidence suggests that, before encryption, the actor may have removed limited files containing customers’ personal data.” Potential data includes names, addresses (home and email), phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers.
Motility stated that it has not discovered any indications that the data is being misused or signs on major hacking leak sites.
What happens if you data was exposed
Social Security numbers and dates of birth, are especially at risk since scammers can try using them to open accounts. Even if your payment card was not stolen, phishing scams can use your name and address to look real.
For this reason, businesses frequently incorporate credit monitoring and identity protection into their responses. In this particular case, Motility Software Solutions offered 12 months of coverage, and Allianz Life and WestJet provided two years.
What to do now (and if you want to avoid hacks)
- Carefully read the notice. Don’t ignore emails because they migth explain the events and data that were involved.
- Activate identity protection. Enroll in credit monitoring and identity protection if they are available.
- Set freezes or fraud alerts. A fraud alert make you verify your identity, while a credit freeze prevents new credit from being applied to your name until you remove it.
- Be cautious of phishing. Avoid clicking on links and instead visit the company’s website directly when in doubt.
- Make sure your passwords are strong and distinct. Everyone benefits from using a password manager and creating strong password practices.
- Look over the statements. Regularly check your bank and credit card statements to quickly identify any unusual charges.
Data breaches are stressful, but simple steps can lower the risk.