TransUnion Data Breach Affects 4.4 Million Consumers
One of the three largest U.S. consumer credit bureaus has been hacked, leaving the data of more than 4.4 million people in the hands of hackers. TransUnion, which stores credit information on 200 million U.S. consumers and shares it with 65,000 other organizations, just announced the data breach, which occurred last month on the back of a massive data breach at Salesforce.
What happened at TransUnion?
TransUnion suffered a “cyber incident involving a third-party application” on July 28 that allowed attackers to gain unauthorized access to some U.S. consumers’ personal data, according to a data breach notice sent to the Maine attorney general. A letter sent to victims said credit reports and “basic credit information” were not affected by the breach, though the company did not disclose details about what was compromised. The breach was discovered on July 30.
As reported by BleepingComputer , the incident is related to a series of recent attacks by the hacker group ShinyHunters on Salesforce, a major customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Other affected companies associated with Salesforce include Google, Workday, Allianz Life, and several major retailers such as Adidas and LVMH.
What TransUnion customers need to do now
TransUnion began notifying affected consumers on August 26, so be on the lookout for a letter from the company. Anyone whose data was compromised can sign up for 24 months of free credit monitoring from TransUnion’s My TrueIdentity, including identity protection and resolution services, and $1 million in identity theft insurance.
To register through the My TrueIdentity website, you will need the unique activation code from the email, as well as an email address and confirmation of some personal information. Please note that the offer is valid for 90 days from the date of receipt of the notification.
If you haven’t already, you should freeze your credit with each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to prevent fraudulent accounts from being opened in your name. If you believe your Social Security number or other information has been compromised, you can file a fraud report with one of the bureaus, which will forward it to the other two. You should also take other steps to protect your personal information , including monitoring all of your accounts and reporting suspicious activity immediately.
If you need to speak to someone at TransUnion regarding a leak, you can call 800-516-4700 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.