Unknown Amount of Information Stolen from US Insurance Company

US Insurance Company Hit by Cyberattack

 US Insurance Company Hit by Cyber ​​Hack

Aflak, one of the largest insurance companies in America, announced that hackers stole an unknown amount of customers' personal information from its network during a cyberattack earlier this month.

The insurance giant confirmed on Friday, in a mandatory legal filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, that it identified the hackers in its system on June 12 and contained the incident.

Aflak, which provides additional insurance to individuals not covered by major insurance companies, stated that it is not yet known how many customers were affected by the data breach. The company said that the personal data included customer claims, such as Social Security numbers and health information, according to a report published by TechCrunch .

Aflak stated that the breach also included data from its beneficiaries, employees, and agents. Aflac confirmed that its systems were not affected by ransomware, but attributed the breach to an unidentified cybercriminal group known for targeting the US insurance sector.

According to its press release issued Friday, Aflac said the hackers used social engineering techniques to breach its network. Aflac, which has approximately 50 million customers according to its website, is the latest US insurance company to be hit by a cyberattack in recent weeks, amid warnings that hackers are targeting the broader insurance industry.

John Hultquist, a senior analyst with Google's Threat Intelligence unit, said last week that the unit is "aware of multiple breaches" in the US that bear the hallmarks of activity linked to Scattered Spider, a loosely affiliated group of hackers that uses social engineering techniques, and sometimes the threat of violence, to target companies' help desks and call centers to gain access to their networks.

Hackers are also reportedly behind the recent breaches at Erie Insurance and Philadelphia Insurance, which disclosed cyberattacks this month, with disruptions continuing. The hackers associated with the Scattered Spider attacks are known to have financial motives and have previously been linked to cyberattacks and breaches at tech giants, casinos, and hotels, as well as recent data breaches in the retail sector in the UK and US.