US telecom giant, Comcast has confirmed that a data breach involving some of its customers’ information occurred in February 2024. The company revealed the incident following a recent court filing in Maine.
How the data breach happened
According to the filing, the data breach originated from a ransomware attack targeting Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), a debt collection agency previously used by Comcast.Hackers gained unauthorised access to FBCS‘s computer network between February 14th and 26th, 2024. During this time, they reportedly downloaded sensitive data and encrypted some of the agency’s systems.
The compromised data reportedly includes personal information belonging to over 237,000 Comcast customers. This information potentially includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, Comcast account numbers, and ID numbers used internally by FBCS.
While Comcast claims they stopped using FBCS for debt collection in 2020, it appears the breach affects customers who were subscribers around 2021. Initial reports from FBCS allegedly indicated no customer data was compromised, leading to a delay in Comcast notifying affected individuals. It wasn’t until July 2024 that the debt collection agency disclosed the data breach to Comcast.
What is Comcast doing for impacted users
Comcast is currently notifying impacted customers and advising them to take steps to protect themselves from potential identity theft. To help mitigate the potential risks associated with the data breach, Comcast is providing affected customers with complimentary identity theft protection services for a period of at least 12 months. This includes membership in CyEx Identity Defense Complete, which offers comprehensive credit monitoring services. Along with this, the company has also asked the users to remain vigilant of frauds and check their account statements.