Aflac Discloses Security Breach Potentially Affecting Personal Data, Health Information
Aflac disclosed Friday a data breach in its network that may have exposed customers' personal information.
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Aflac identified suspicious activity on its U.S. network June 12, initiated cyber incident response protocols “and stopped the intrusion within hours,” the company said.
The insurance firm has hired “third-party cybersecurity experts to support our response to this incident” and launched an investigation, it added. “While the investigation remains in its early stages, in the spirit of transparency and care for our customers, we are sharing that our preliminary findings indicate that the unauthorized party used social engineering tactics to gain access to our network.”
So far, the investigation has found that potentially affected files include Social Security numbers and health and claims information, among other personal data of customers, beneficiaries, agents, employees and others involved in the company's U.S. operations, Aflac said. It hasn't yet determined the number of affected individuals. The insurer said it's the country's leading supplier of supplemental health insurance products and has millions of customers.