Insurance firm Globe Life to warn 850,000 of potential data theft following extortion attempt

Summary: Globe Life has alerted approximately 850,000 customers about a data breach stemming from an attempted extortion by hackers. The incident, which involved hackers breaching databases maintained by independent agency owners, led to unauthorized access to personal information, although the full extent of the breach remains unclear. The company has initiated voluntary notifications and credit monitoring services for potentially affected individuals while also cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

Affected: Globe Life Insurance Company

Keypoints :

• Investigation revealed databases breached by hackers were maintained by a small number of independent agency owners.
• Initially, 5,000 individuals were reported affected, but Globe Life is notifying an additional 850,000 customers out of caution.
• Data accessed included Social Security numbers, names, addresses, health-related data, and insurance policy information.
• The company has not confirmed if the hackers acquired all of the data from the databases.
• Globe Life did not pay the extortion demand and informed federal law enforcement instead.