COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A data breach at a company designed to keep credit safe is impacting millions of people across the United States and in central Ohio.
It’s becoming a more common story and is another example of why everyone needs to know how to keep their data safe.
A spokesperson for TransUnion told NBC4 they identified and contained the breach within hours, but still, sensitive information was stolen. We also heard from a viewer who said she was impacted.
A letter came in the mail for one NBC4 viewer showing that her Social Security number and date of birth were stolen. Anyone who was impacted should have received one too.
“The most important thing to know about this particular incident is it doesn't affect, at least from what's been published, it didn't affect the actual credit score database,” SecureCyber CEO Shawn Waldman said.
The breach impacted a third-party system. Waldman said many companies, such as Google, have fallen victim to similar breaches that impacted customer relations databases.
“It's becoming more the norm. I mean, the threat actors, bad guys, are finding new and ingenious ways to get access to sensitive information,” Waldman said.
In a statement, a TransUnion spokesperson wrote: “TransUnion recently experienced a cyber incident that affected a third-party application serving our U.S. consumer support operations. Upon discovery, we quickly contained the issue, which did not involve our core credit database or include credit reports. The incident involved unauthorized access to limited personal information for a very small percentage of U.S. consumers. We are working with law enforcement and engaged third party cyber security experts for an independent forensics review. Additionally, we are notifying affected consumers and providing credit monitoring services” and “We identified and contained this event within hours.”
“They got social security numbers. That's all the threat actors want because they're out there now trying to get credit cards, trying to build fake identities with these,” National Technology Management CEO and Founder Kelly Siegel said.
Siegel is the CEO of a cybersecurity firm that uses AI to protect people against AI.
“I've been in this business for 27 years. Nothing surprises me anymore,” Siegel said. “The challenge becomes as long as we have humans, we're going to have this issue.”
Now those impacted, along with everyone, should be taking steps to lock up their data.
“Practice, you know, good cyber hygiene. We've got to enter into a part of our world where the general public becomes a little more attentive to what that means in order to protect themselves, because these bad guys, these incidents are just going to continue and they'll just continue to escalate,” Waldman said.
There are a few ways to protect yourself, whether you are a victim of this data breach or not. Set up multi-factor authentication, freeze your credit and set up alerts if there are any changes to your credit or bank account.
TransUnion is also offering two years of free credit monitoring to those impacted.
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