LexisNexis data breach affected over 360,000 people

Data analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions said a data security incident it suffered last year compromised the sensitive personal information of more than 360,000 individuals.

 

Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, LexisNexis provides information to financial institutions, insurance carriers, healthcare providers and government agencies from public records and multiple proprietary data sources.

 

In a data security incident notice filed with the Office of Maine Attorney General, LNRS said that on December 25, an unauthorised threat actor gained access to a third-party platform the company used for software development and stole confidential data.

 

LNRS immediately launched an investigation, with assistance from external cyber security experts, to determine the scope of the incident.

 

“Based on our review of the impacted data, we have determined that certain of your personal information was affected,” LNRS said.

 

The compromised data included names, dates of birth, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, Social Security numbers, and drivers license numbers. LNRS added that no financial data or credit card information was accessed during the incident. The filing with the Maine state regulator also states that the company has identified at least 364,333 individuals impacted by the incident.

 

Also, the data broker giant assured its clients that the company’s own network was not impacted during the breach.

 

“Upon learning of the issue, we promptly launched an investigation with the assistance of leading external cybersecurity experts, notified law enforcement and took steps to review and further enhance our security controls. We also initiated an extensive review of the impacted data to identify personal information that may have been affected,” the company added.

 

While LNRS found no evidence of the compromised information being misused, it advised all affected individuals to regularly monitor their credit reports, account and benefit statements and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities, including the police and the state attorney general.

 

It has also offered two years of complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services through Experian to all affected individuals.