TransUnion Data Breach Affects 4.4 Million, Exposing Social Security Numbers To Hackers

We are not expecting a decline in the number of data breaches and ransomware campaigns anytime soon. At least not at a time when AI is becoming an enabler for the malicious activities of black hat hackers. We’ve published a lot of reports that attest to this fact, including AI-powered ransomware that can automate cyberattacks. In addition to these reports, TransUnion, an American company that gathers and analyzes data regarding the financial habits of Americans, has just reported a data breach that has reportedly impacted over 4 million Americans.

Because of what it is, TransUnion is usually in possession of a wide range of personal and sensitive information about Americans, including, financial details like credit rating, payment history, account status, debt and balances, and so on. That kind of information was apparently not touched in the breach, but Transunion did admit that full legal names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, and government IDs (including driver's licenses and passport numbers) were all included in the exiltrated data.


Following the breach, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, a law firm specializing in protecting American consumer rights, is investigating the extent of damage inflicted on Americans whose personal information have been compromised. As it stands, the law firm may likely represent impacted individuals in a class action suit against TransUnion if there is a reasonable basis for legal action. Hence, to establish grounds for legal action, the law firm is reportedly compiling information and reaching out to victims of the malicious act.

The hackers behind the breach often sell victims' sensitive information on the dark web. Bad actors are usually interested in such details as they can be used for identity theft. Other times, they purchase such details to perfect phishing attacks deployed via emails and text messages. Since the breach actually occurred more than a month ago, hackers may have had ample time to use the compromised information for malicious purposes. To contain the risk associated with the breach, Transunion is reportedly offering victims two years of free credit monitoring, available through letters sent in paper mail, which may already have received if you were affected.

After a breach like this, it's not a bad idea to add a fraud alert to your credit bureau report and also to keep an eye on your bank and credit card statements. The fraud alert tells lenders to be extra cautious when verifying your identity before approving new credit in your name. It can be tedious, but it's a good idea, because information like what was stolen can be used to open new lines of credit in your name, and that could have a seriously damaging effect on your credit rating.