AssuranceAmerica data breach exposes records of 6.9 million drivers

AssuranceAmerica disclosed a data breach impacting nearly 7 million drivers after attackers accessed its systems earlier this year, the company said in a filing with Maine's Office of the Attorney General. The Atlanta-based insurer operates through a network of over 9,500 independent agents and provides auto, renters, and commercial auto insurance across 14 U.S. states. The breach exposed the information of 6,998,886 people, according to the filing. AssuranceAmerica detected the breach on March 17 and determined that attackers had stolen a wide range of customer information on March 16 after targeting one of the company's employees. An unauthorized third party accessed portions of the company's IT environment and copied data files, the company said in notification letters that will be sent to affected people on Friday. The review of affected files was completed on June 15. Stolen documents contained names, contact information, automobile insurance policy or account information, driver or vehicle information, claims-related information, and driver's license numbers. Since detecting the breach, AssuranceAmerica disabled compromised credentials, removed threat actors from its network, isolated affected systems, and notified law enforcement. The company also implemented additional security measures including resetting passwords, deploying enhanced monitoring tools, and providing additional cybersecurity instruction to personnel. AssuranceAmerica advised affected customers to alert their financial institutions if they detect suspicious activity.