Nationwide Insurance informs of data breach

[dmcowen674]

First of all neither of us has ever had Nationwide Insurance.

This is the danger of these fucking Corporations all sharing data.

Received a letter that they suffered a criminal breach October 16 2012.

That all of our data was stolen from their site.

They say that they will pay for credit monitoring and theft protection for one year.

 

[dmcowen674]

Articles on the data breach

11-23-2012

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/20170095/nationwide-breach

A security breach at nationwide insurance has compromised the personal information of more than 13-thousand people.


Over 500 hundred Oklahomans are being notified of the breach by the state's insurance commissioner.


And in South Carolina the same notification is going out about to 12-thousand five hundred people.


There is no word on whether residents in other states are also affected.


Officials say the company's data was hacked on October 3rd and the FBI is leading the investigation into the incident.

 

[dmcowen674]

11-20-2012

http://www.ajc.com/news/business/consumer-advice/insurer-hit-in-data-breach/nTBz2/

Hackers hit Nationwide Mutual, steal data on 28,000 in Ga.



Hackers accessed personal information—including Social Security numbers — of more than 28,000 Georgians after a computer breach at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.


The unauthorized access extends to customers beyond Georgia, but the Ohio-based insurer declined to say how many clients elsewhere have been affected and in how many other states.




The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are investigating, the spokeswoman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The company did not disclose whether information was actually stolen or merely viewed by the perpetrators, but labeled the breach a criminal act.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said that Nationwide informed his office that names, drivers license numbers, dates of birth and marital statuses were among the other pieces of sensitive data accessed.

In the letter to California customers, Nationwide said that on Oct. 3 “a portion of our computer network that is used by Nationwide Insurance agents and Allied Insurance agents was criminally intruded upon by an unidentified criminal perpetrator. We discovered the attack that day, and took immediate steps to contain the intrusion. We believe that we successfully contained the attack through our responsive actions.”

Hudgens said Nationwide has provided his office with documentation that written notice was provided to Georgia customers, and the company has established a consumer hotline at 1-800-760-1125.

In addition to these steps, Nationwide is offering affected customers and applicants free credit monitoring and protection services from Equifax for up to one year.


Givens, of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, said her organization recommends consumers take advantage of the credit protection offered by Nationwide. Customers also should consider if placing a freeze on their credit is appropriate.

 

[wirednuts]

credit monitoring? ooo thanks. how about using the high premiums to upgrade your security? how about a coupon for free insurance for a year?

 

[CycloWizard]

It's good enough for state governments that have done the same thing:

South Carolina officials are urging residents to sign up for an identity theft protection program following a massive security breach at the state Department of Revenue.
Investigators said 3.6 million Social Security numbers and more than 387,000 credit and debit card numbers could have been exposed to international hackers during separate probes at the DOR over the past few months.
Authorities have said they have now closed the vulnerable parts of the DOR's system, but said as many as 3 in 4 South Carolina residents could be exposed to identity theft, and that anyone who has filed a tax return in S.C. since 1998 is vulnerable.
State officials are offering one year of free protection from a credit and identity theft monitoring system, Experian. Residents can sign up online or call a toll free number to sign up, using a special code, SCDOR123. Officials said they are still negotiating the total price to taxpayers with the company, but said residents can sign up through Jan. 31, 2013, and that the program is retroactive.
You can access the program online at http://www.protectmyid.com/SCDOR.

Residents can also call toll free at 1-866-578-5422 and use the code SCDOR123 to sign up for the fraud protection, which officials said was good for up to $1 million.

But let's keep blaming corporations for being evil while giving governments a free pass.

 

[Argo]

It's good enough for state governments that have done the same thing:

But let's keep blaming corporations for being evil while giving governments a free pass.

Of course, I can also stop using any company with bad security practices (haven't bought a Sony product since their breach). If only we could have such a choice with the government.

 

[Doppel]

Of course, I can also stop using any company with bad security practices (haven't bought a Sony product since their breach). If only we could have such a choice with the government.

I don't know what rules specifically pertain to companies that have your SSN, and a breach of their security is a major deal. Credit cards, though? Who cares, honestly. Any company maintaining your actual credit card information must comply with PCI standards. If they suffer a breach and it is determined they were out of compliance at time of breach the penalties are absolutely ludicrous. Many companies are not in compliance, though, but still you're not on the hook anyway!