Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
Comcast has reported a data breach affecting over 230,000 customers due to a ransomware attack on a third-party debt collection agency. The stolen data includes sensitive information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and Comcast account numbers. Other organizations, such as CF Medical and Truist Bank, were also impacted by the breach, with millions of individuals having personal and health information stolen.
Article:
U.S. telecom giant Comcast revealed that personal data of more than 230,000 customers was compromised in a ransomware attack on a third-party debt collection agency. The breach occurred in February at Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), a Pennsylvania-based debt collection agency used by Comcast. Initially, FBCS claimed that no Comcast customer data was affected, but later admitted that customer data had been compromised, affecting 237,703 subscribers.
The stolen data includes sensitive information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and Comcast account numbers. The breach targeted customers registered around 2021, even though Comcast stopped using FBCS for debt collection in 2020. The nature of the security incident was confirmed to be a ransomware attack, where unauthorized parties gained access to FBCS’s network, downloading data and encrypting systems.
Other organizations, such as CF Medical and Truist Bank, were also affected by this breach. CF Medical confirmed that more than 620,000 individuals had personal and health information stolen, while Truist Bank reported that attackers accessed names, addresses, account numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of some of its 10 million customers. The full extent of the impact is still being investigated.
Overall, this breach highlights the ongoing threat of ransomware attacks and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive customer data.
