Last week, American Family Insurance (“American Family”) confirmed that the recent IT issues the company has been dealing with were due to a cyberattack. Given the recency of the incident, American Family is still in the process of investigating the incident. However, if American Family determines that any consumer information was compromised as a result of the cyberattack, it will be required to send data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected.
If you receive a data breach notification from American Family Insurance, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. While American Family hasn’t yet confirmed whether consumer data was compromised, the company did acknowledge that it was the victim of a cyberattack. Typically, hackers conduct these attacks to steal confidential consumer information that can later be used to commit fraud, such as identity theft. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options if the company confirms an American Family Insurance data breach in the future. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
Did American Family Insurance Experience a Data Breach?
At this point, American Family has not confirmed whether any consumer information was accessed or removed from the company’s IT network. Additionally, the American Family Insurance cyberattack was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, BleepingComputer recently received confirmation from an American Family representative that the company had indeed experienced a cyberattack.
According to a recent piece by BleepingComputer, American Family Insurance recently detected unusual activity within a portion of its network. In response, the company quickly took measures to protect the data stored on the affected systems, shutting down several business systems. American Family also retained outside cybersecurity experts to assist with its investigation.
Due to the extensive outages, American Family was unable to accept payments online and is instead informing customers that they can make a payment when the systems are back up without incurring a penalty.
American Family Insurance is still working through the recent cyberattack, which includes determining what, if any, consumer data was leaked as a result. If American Family determines that confidential consumer information was exposed to unauthorized access, American Family will be required to send out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.
More Information About American Family Insurance
Founded in 1927, American Family Insurance is an insurance company based out of Madison, Wisconsin. American Family offers a wide range of insurance products, including auto insurance, homeowners’ insurance, life insurance, business insurance and farm/ranch insurance. American Family Insurance employs more than 13,000 people and generates approximately $14.4 billion in annual revenue.
