Verizon discloses insider data breach affecting over 63,000 employees

Verizon Communications, a prominent American telecommunications and media company serving millions nationwide, has revealed a significant insider data breach impacting nearly half of its workforce. The breach, affecting approximately 63,206 employees, was discovered internally after an unauthorized employee accessed a file containing sensitive personal information on September 21, 2023.

The breach notification, shared with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, outlined the compromised data, including employee full names, physical addresses, Social Security numbers (SSNs), national IDs, genders, union affiliations, dates of birth, and compensation details. However, customer information does not appear to be affected by this incident.

Verizon confirmed that the breach was detected on December 12, 2023, nearly three months after the unauthorized access occurred. Despite the breach, the company stated that there are no indications of malicious exploitation or widespread dissemination of the exposed data beyond Verizon’s internal systems.

In response to the breach, Verizon is actively enhancing its internal security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The company also notified impacted employees and relevant regulatory authorities about the breach. Additionally, Verizon is offering a two-year identity theft protection and credit monitoring service to mitigate potential risks for affected individuals.

Rich Young, a spokesperson for Verizon, clarified that there is currently no evidence suggesting improper use or external sharing of the compromised information. While Verizon continues its internal review of the incident, they have not referred the matter to law enforcement due to the absence of indications of malicious intent or external sharing of the data.