MoneyGram data breach allegedly caused five-day outage

MoneyGram data breach overview: 

• Who: MoneyGram confirmed sensitive consumer data was stolen during a September data breach that also led to a five-day outage. 
• Why: The company said the data breach exposed certain consumers’ names, birthdates and a limited number of Social Security numbers, among other information. MoneyGram maintains the data breach was not caused by a ransomware attack.
• Where: The MoneyGram data breach affects certain consumers nationwide.

MoneyGram confirmed hackers were able to steal sensitive customer data during a September data breach that led to a five-day outage.

In a letter sent to affected customers, the money transfer and financial services company said the data breach exposed names, birthdates, contact information, and a limited number of Social Security numbers, among other things. 

The type of information exposed in the data breach varied by the affected individual, according to MoneyGram. 

MoneyGram said it determined on Sept. 27 that an unauthorized third party had accessed and acquired personal information of certain consumers between Sept. 20 and Sept. 22. The company said its investigation into the incident is ongoing but that its systems are “back online” and normal business operations have been resumed. 

MoneyGram took certain systems offline after discovering data breach

MoneyGram said it took steps to “contain and remediate” the data breach upon discovering it, including by “proactively taking certain systems offline,” which the company said “temporarily impacted,” the availability of its services during the MoneyGram outage.

The company advised consumers to “remain vigilant” for incidents of fraud and identity theft in the wake of the MoneyGram data breach. 

MoneyGram is also offering affected consumers with complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services for a period of two years. Consumers with more questions about the data breach can contact MoneyGram by telephone at 1-877-322-8228. 

The company reportedly maintains the data breach was not the result of a ransomware attack. No threat actors have claimed responsibility for the data breach at this time, reports Bleeping Computer.

Customers have recently filed multiple class action lawsuits against companies accused of failing to safeguard and secure the private data of customers during respective data breach incidents. 

The class action lawsuits were filed against Ally Financial, Acadian Ambulance, National Public Data, Cricket Wireless, Rite Aid and AT&T in various U.S. federal courts. 

Are you affected by the MoneyGram data breach? Let us know in the comments.

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