The Week in Breach News: 08/28/24 – 09/03/24

Atlanta-based JAS Worldwide, a global freight forwarder, confirmed a ransomware attack that caused technical disruptions affecting its operations and customer service. The company has not disclosed the extent of the impact on its customers, but its email system and website remain secure. No ransomware group has claimed responsibility yet.

On August 27, 2024, the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) reported a data breach that may impact 32K users. USAA pointed to a system update error that occurred during an update on April 30, 2024, as the culprit. The incident exposed sensitive consumer information to unauthorized users. The compromised data likely includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers and insurance details. USAA has notified affected individuals of the breach.  

Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered a cyberattack, discovered on August 21, 2024, resulting in the theft of sensitive company data. While the company confirmed that confidential information was accessed, it did not disclose specifics. In response, Dick’s shut down its email systems, locked employees out of their accounts and required IT to manually validate employee identities via cameras before restoring access. The BlackSuit ransomware gang has claimed responsibility.

Young Consulting, a medical software provider, reported that attackers accessed its network between April 10 and April 13, stealing files containing personal information like names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and insurance details. The compromised data affects Blue Shield of California and other entities. The company has begun notifying the 954,177 individuals impacted. 

The Toronto District School Board confirmed that a ransomware attack discovered in June involved student data from the 2023/2024 school year. The affected information includes student names, grades and birthdates. Initially thought to only affect a testing environment, the LockBit ransomware gang later claimed responsibility, giving the school system 13 days to pay an undisclosed ransom.

A breach of the smartphone geolocation tracker service Tracelo on September 1, 2024, exposed data from over 1.4 million individuals, including customers and their targets. A hacker using the alias “Satanic” leaked 264 MB of allegedly stolen data, including three CSV files containing personal information such as full names, phone numbers, email addresses and bcrypt password hashes. The breach also revealed details like phone carriers, Google ID numbers and subscription types.  

The Big Issue, a street newspaper, has apologized for a recent data breach. A ransomware attack in March 2024 led to data exposure for an unspecified number of individuals. The compromised data included personal data like addresses and bank account details. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office and law enforcement have been informed. The group engaged cybersecurity experts to contain the incident and recover systems.

Fota Wildlife Park reported a cyberattack and urged customers to cancel credit and debit cards used on its website between May 12 and August 27. Park officials that they recently became aware of illegal activity on the park’s website and that it has taken immediate steps to investigate and identify what information had been accessed in order to carry out containment measures. The park has removed access to user accounts and is working with external cybersecurity experts to investigate and contain the incident.