On June 22, 2023, Genworth Financial, Inc. filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing a data breach. Evidently, Genworth was recently notified by one of the company’s vendors, PBI Research Services, that a software vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer program resulted in confidential Genworth client data being exposed to an unauthorized party. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ names, Social Security numbers and other personal information. Genworth is currently working to determine which individuals’ information was leaked, at which point it will send out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted.
If you received a data breach notification from Genworth Financial, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. It is also possible that you will receive a data breach letter from Progress Software, LLC, as that is the company responsible for creating the MOVEit software. In either case, it is imperative that you take any data breach letter you receive seriously. To learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft and what your legal options are in the wake of the Genworth Financial data breach, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What We Know So Far About the Genworth Financial Breach
News of the Genworth Financial data breach is still fresh; however, what we know at this point comes from the company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to this source, Genworth was recently informed that PBI Research Services, a company Genworth uses to verify the death of certain policyholders, was included among the many companies that were affected by the MOVEit file transfer data breach.
MOVEit file transfer software is a program developed by Progress Software, LLC. The program allows companies to securely transfer files. However, due to a zero-day vulnerability, hackers were able to access confidential information. Progress Software discovered the vulnerability on May 31, 2023 and released a patch shortly thereafter. However, not before hackers were able to exploit the vulnerability to access the confidential information of tens of millions of Americans—including 2.5 to 2.7 million Genworth policyholders and customers.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Genworth Financial began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number and other personal information.
On June 22, 2023, Genworth Financial indicated that it is in the process of sending out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
More Information About Genworth Financial, Inc.
Founded in 1871, Genworth Financial, Inc. is an insurance company based in Richmond, Virginia. Genworth provides life insurance, long-term care insurance, mortgage insurance, and annuities to customers across the United States. Genworth is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GNW.” Genworth Financial employs more than 2,500 people and generates approximately $7.1 billion in annual revenue.
