TransUnion, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, was breached earlier this month. The exact number of individuals affected is unknown as the agency did not release this information upon reporting the breach to the Massachusetts Attorney General.
The breach potentially exposed private data of TransUnion customers nationwide – names, Social Security Numbers, financial account numbers and driver’s license numbers. While the total number impacted has not been released, the company has stated that it possesses “200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States.”
This is the second breach reported by the agency in 2022. The first one, in March, affected the agency’s South African division. The agency was hacked by a Brazilian “criminal third party” that demanded a $15 million ransom in exchange for not releasing the stolen data. The cybercriminals claimed to have stolen 4Gb of files, including the information of 54 million South Africans.
This most recent data breach resulted in TransUnion notifying individuals whose information may have been impacted. The information leaked in a data breach can be used to commit identity theft and other frauds against victims of a breach.
Consumers can protect their private data by installing Identity Theft Protection Software. While there are many White Label Identity Protection on the market, the important thing is to be proactive before another data breach makes headlines.
