Globe Life data breach may have affected 850,000 more patients than previously thought

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Globe Life was hit by a cyberattack in summer 2024, which affected thousands of users
The investigation has now determined the attack affected more than 850,000 victims
The attackers tried to extort the company for money

American insurance company Globe Life says approximately 855,000 people are now thought to have been affected by the ransomware attack it recently suffered.

In mid-June 2024, the company reported a cybersecurity incident in which unknown third parties accessed sensitive customer data through one of its web portals. In an 8-K form filed with the SEC at the time, Globe Life said crooks accessed sensitive data on at least 5,000 customers, but stressed that the final number, confirmed after an in-depth investigation, is likely to be a lot bigger.

The new investigation has now claimed, “approximately 850,000 additional individuals” were impacted, with the unnamed perpetrators stealing people’s names, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, and in some instances, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health-related data and other insurance policy information - but fortunately, financial information was not stolen.

No payment

Globe Life said that the attackers tried to extort money for the stolen data, but failed.

“The company did not pay the demanded extortion payment and instead notified federal law enforcement and continues to assist law enforcement in the investigation of this activity,” Globe Life said in its latest report.

“The company has initiated the process to provide notification to, and credit monitoring services for, these individuals.”

Although the crooks demanded a ransom payment for the data, they did not lock down the systems, or delete files from the affected systems. Therefore, the breach did not impact the company’s operations, Globe Life stressed. Therefore, it doesn’t expect the attack to have a material impact on its business. Costs and expenses stemming from this attack will be covered by insurance.

Globe Life is one of the biggest life and health insurance providers in the United States, with annual revenue of more than $5 billion.

Via BleepingComputer

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.