Description

On June 23,2023, PBI Research Services has experienced a data breach, wherein three clients have reported that the data of 4.75 million individuals was stolen in the recent MOVEit Transfer data-theft attacks. These attacks have resulted in the exposure of sensitive data belonging to millions of customers, as confirmed by three separate disclosures from PBI clients. It is important to note that the number of affected individuals may rise as additional companies come forward with their own disclosures. Genworth Financial, a life insurance services provider based in Virginia, is the first affected organization in the data breach incident. Genworth published a MOVEit Security Event notice on their website, revealing that they were notified by PBI about the security breach on May 29th, 2023. Subsequently, on June 16th, PBI confirmed that customers' personal data had been stolen. Genworth estimates that the breach has impacted approximately 2.5 to 2.7 million individuals, including both their customers and insurance agents. The exposed data includes sensitive information such as full names, dates of birth, social security numbers, zip codes, states of residence, policy numbers, and agent IDs. According to Genworth Financial, the attack did not have any impact on their own systems, network, or business operations, as they do not utilize the MOVEit or GoAnywhere products. Affected individuals will receive notifications regarding the data breach in the upcoming weeks, which will provide instructions on how to enroll in credit monitoring and identity theft protection services free of charge. Another company affected by the PBI breach is Wilton Reassurance, an insurance provider based in New York. Wilton Reassurance has reported that 1,482,490 of its customers had their data stolen. The exposed information, as reported to the Office of the Maine Attorney General, includes customers' names and social security numbers. Wilton Reassurance has confirmed that impacted individuals will receive 12 months of free identity theft protection and credit monitoring services through Kroll, although a data breach notification letter sample for Maine's portal is not yet available. CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the US, has also been affected by the PBI data breach. CalPERS acted swiftly to protect the data and benefits of its retirees and beneficiaries, reinforcing their data management protocols for contractor interactions. Approximately 769,000 CalPERS members were impacted and will receive detailed notification letters explaining how to access two years of complimentary credit monitoring provided by Experian. PBI Research Services is not currently listed on the Clop data leak site, suggesting ongoing negotiations or the absence of extortion activities at this stage.