Vertafore says that attackers compromised Driver Data from
Sensitive information on 27.7 million drivers registered in the state of Texas was compromised in a data breach. The compromised Texas drivers’ licenses were stolen from insurance technology company Vertafore. The company says that the data breach is a result of human error.
The breached data involved Texas drivers’ licenses issued before February 2019.
“Vertafore recently determined that as a result of human error, three data files were inadvertently stored in an unsecured external storage service that appears to have been accessed without authorization,” says Vertafore in the announcement on their website.
The sensitive data from drivers in the state of Texas was compromised somewhere between March 11th and August 1, 2020, says Vertafore. The data breach was discovered in the middle of August 2020.
The investigation found that three data files were compromised. These data files are used in conjunction with Vertafore’s “insurance rating solutions.” The compromised information contain the highly sensitive data of 27.7 million people who hold Texas drivers’ licenses.
Compromised Personal Information includes:
- Texas driver license number
- Names
- Birthdate
- Address
- Vehicle registration histories
No payment card information or Social Security numbers were stolen.
Vertafore has reported the driver’s license data breach to the Texas Attorney General, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and federal law enforcement.
There are no reports that any of the stolen Texas driver’s license information has been used in crimes.
Breached Texas Driver’s Licenses – How to Protect Your Money
Although no payment information was stolen in the Texas drivers’ license data breach, the highly sensitive personal data can be used in future fraud. Cybercriminals use this information to reset passwords and open up new credit cards using your identity.
Your information may also be sold to other cybercriminals for use in email phishing campaigns that can result in financial losses.
- Use a unique password for all online accounts. If you cannot remember a new password for all online accounts, then use a password manager to create secure passwords and remember them for you.
- Set up credit monitoring and identity theft monitoring services to alert you to any suspicious activity
- Monitor all bank accounts for signs of fraudulent charges.
- Identity theft can result in other forms of financial theft like medical fraud income tax fraud. Criminals can use your identity to rack up charges at doctors using your name and address. You then are responsible for payments for their medical care. The tax rod criminals file fraudulent income tax returns using your identity to claim a large refund.
Vertafore is offering people impacted by this data breach one year of free credit monitoring.
