Lawsuit Investigation Looks into Talcott Resolution Data Breach

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org want to hear from anyone whose data may have been compromised in a May 2023 data breach that impacted Talcott Resolution.

Specifically, they’re investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed against the life insurance and annuity company over a recent cyberattack involving MOVEit, a file transfer service used by PBI Research Services (PBI), a third-party vendor Talcott partners with.

In a notice to the Iowa attorney general, Talcott Resolution revealed that files accessed by cybercriminals during the data breach contained consumers’ Social Security numbers, full names, dates of birth, contract numbers and zip codes.

The attorneys have reason to believe that Talcott Resolution and its third-party partners may have failed to implement appropriate safeguards to keep customer information confidential. They’re now looking into a class action lawsuit to hold the companies accountable and help compensate victims for any harm they’ve suffered, such as identity theft or fraud.

Talcott Resolution Data Breach: Why Did I Get a Letter?

Windsor, Connecticut-based Talcott Resolution, which reportedly oversees over one million annuity and life insurance contracts, notified the attorneys general of several states in late June that the MOVEit file transfer system security event experienced by PBI had impacted approximately 557,741 individuals associated with the company.

Talcott provided the attorneys general a sample data breach letter that would be sent to affected consumers by Pension Benefit Information, LLC (PBI) and indicated that victims will be offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The company also stated that it “expect[s] there will be limited recourse to recover the information the attackers stole.”

According to a proposed class action filed against the operators of MOVEit, Ipswitch and Progress Software Corporation, the “massive” cyberattack has impacted “several hundred” companies and federal and state agencies that use the platform to share sensitive data.

The actor reportedly responsible for the breach, a ransomware group called Clop, first gained access to the MOVEit transfer servers on May 27 after exploiting a vulnerability in the platform’s software, BankInfoSecurity.com reports. DataEconomy.com says that in mid-June, the Russian-linked hacker group began listing impacted organizations on its dark web leak site and threatening to post batches of data if they failed to meet its ransom demands.

As of June 23, PBI has not been listed on Clop’s website, BleepingComputer.com reports. “While this could mean that the company is negotiating with the threat actors not to release data, it could also mean that Clop has not begun extorting the organization yet,” the cybersecurity news site says.

How Could a Lawsuit Help Data Breach Victims?

A lawsuit could also force Talcott Resolution and its vendors to implement stronger data security practices to protect customer information from future attacks.

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