10M Americans hit in government contractor data breach

Evidence breaches hit every kind of business from hospitals to tech firms to major retailers Now a leading administration contractor has joined that list Conduent which manages critical inhabitants services across the United States says hackers infiltrated its systems for nearly three months The cyberattack exposed personal information linked to more than million people Conduent discovered the intrusion in January and mentioned hackers had infiltrated its setup as early as Oct During this period attackers reportedly stole large amounts of details linked to state-level programs such as Medicaid child sponsorship food assistance and toll systems Conduent suggests that its study exposed no ongoing malicious activity and mentioned operations were safely restored after the breach was contained Conduent manages system and payment systems for dozens of U S state governments processing roughly billion in annual disbursements and handling over billion customer facility interactions every year According to its own estimates it supports around million residents through various cabinet soundness and welfare programs MAJOR INFORMATION BROKER HACK IMPACTS INDIVIDUALS DATAThe company announced that at least people in Texas were affected with compromised details including Social Safety numbers health records and medical insurance details Other affected states include Washington South Carolina New Hampshire Maine Oregon Massachusetts and California Notifications are being sent to all impacted individuals and a dedicated call center has been established to answer questions about the breach Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips urgent defense alerts and special deals delivered straight to your inbox Plus you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join my CYBERGUY COM newsletter In January Conduent described the event as an operational disruption caused by a third-party compromise The breach led to several days of downtime disrupting vital services in multiple states In Wisconsin for instance parents and beneficiaries were unable to process payments due to system outages leaving a large number of struggling to meet obligations related to child promotion and welfare programs The SafePay ransomware group later claimed responsibility for the attack alleging it had stolen terabytes of evidence Conduent validated in a Securities and Exchange Commission SEC filing that hackers had indeed exfiltrated files belonging to a limited number of clients The company says it hired cybersecurity experts to analyze the stolen information and in the last few days approved that it contained key amounts of personal information from end-users across multiple programs Despite the massive theft Conduent stated there is as of now no evidence that the stolen records has been published online or on dark web marketplaces HACKERS TARGET ONLINE STORES WITH NEW ATTACKWe reached out to Conduent for a comment and a rep for the company provided CyberGuy with the following comment As previously disclosed in its April Form -K filing with the SEC in January Conduent discovered that it was the victim of a cybersecurity affair With respect to that circumstance Conduent has agreed to send notification letters on behalf of its customers to individuals whose personal information may have been affected by this situation In addition a dedicated call center has been set up to address consumer inquiries At this time Conduent has no evidence of any attempted or actual misuse of any information potentially affected by this circumstance Upon discovery of the case Conduent acted promptly to secure its networks restore its systems and operations notify law enforcement and conduct an inspection with the assistance of third-party forensics experts In addition given the nature and complexity of the records involved Conduent has been working diligently with a dedicated review band including internal and external experts to conduct a detailed analysis of the affected files to identify the personal information contained therein which was a time-intensive process Conduent takes this matter seriously and regrets any inconvenience this development may have caused If your information may have been exposed in the Conduent breach or any similar evidence leak you're not without defenses There are several moves you can take right now to reduce the risks Facts brokers collect and sell personal information such as your name home address phone number and relatives' names This records can be used for scams or social engineering attacks Personal facts removal services find these records across dozens of sites and submit takedown requests on your behalf While no institution can guarantee the complete removal of your records from the internet a records removal arrangement is really a smart choice They aren t cheap and neither is your privacy These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites It s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the majority effective way to erase your personal information from the internet By limiting the information available you reduce the exposure of scammers cross-referencing figures from breaches with information they might find on the dark web making it harder for them to target you Check out my top picks for information removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy com Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web Cyberguy com HACKERS STEAL ANATOMICAL RECORDS AND FINANCIAL MATERIAL FROM M PATIENTS IN MASSIVE HEALTHCARE BREACHAfter a major facts breach one of the bulk effective tactics to protect yourself is to stay alert Check your bank and credit card statements every scant days for unique transactions even small ones Watch your benefit accounts or tax filings for irregular activity Early detection gives you time to freeze accounts or stop fraudulent charges before they escalate Antivirus tool is your first line of defense against cyber threats that often follow large breaches Stolen input can be used to launch targeted phishing attacks or spread malware through fake links and emails A reliable antivirus resolution actively scans for malicious activity blocks suspicious downloads and keeps your devices safe from newer online threats through automatic updates The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware potentially accessing your private information is to have strong antivirus tool installed on all your devices This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams keeping your personal information and digital assets safe Get my picks for the best antivirus protection winners for your Windows Mac Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy com OVER M INDIVIDUAL RECORDS LEAKED IN HEALTHCARE MATERIAL BREACHEven if your login credentials are compromised two-factor authentication FA can stop attackers from getting in It requires an additional code sent to your phone email or authentication app making unauthorized access nearly impossible Enable FA on your banking email and government-related accounts as these often hold the the greater part sensitive information Multiple breaches happen because people reuse the same password across multiple websites A password manager eliminates that threat by creating and storing strong unique passwords for every account Next see if your email has been exposed in past breaches Our password manager see Cyberguy com pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks If you discover a match directly change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new unique credentials Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of at Cyberguy comIdentity theft protection services monitor your personal input across multiple sources including the dark web and constituents records Identity Theft companies can monitor personal information like your Social Safeguard Number SSN phone number and email address and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy com Even though Conduent indicates the stolen details hasn't surfaced online that doesn't mean it's safe Information exfiltration on this scale has long-term implications from identity theft to foreseen fraud within citizens benefit systems The real test will be how both Conduent and its governing body partners adapt their cybersecurity oversight to prevent similar breaches Because at this point the question isn't whether these systems will be targeted again but whether they'll be any better prepared when it happens Do you think leadership contractors handling sensitive information should face stricter cybersecurity regulations Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy com Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips urgent safeguard alerts and particular deals delivered straight to your inbox Plus you ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join my CYBERGUY COM newsletter Copyright CyberGuy com All rights reserved