Massive Data Breach Exposes Billions
Key takeaways
- The National Public Data Company suffered a massive data breach affecting nearly three billion records.
- Most people are likely affected at some level by this breach.
- The breach compromised sensitive personal information including names, addresses, social security numbers, and historical data—data that is commonly used for identify authentication in financial transactions.
- Financial advisors need to reassess and update their security protocols for client accounts.
- Clients should be encouraged to freeze their credit reports and implement two-factor authentication on all financial accounts.
- Regular monitoring of credit reports is crucial, even for those with frozen credit.
- The breach highlights vulnerabilities even among companies specializing in data management.
- Advisors should operate under the assumption that their clients’ sensitive information is already compromised.
- This breach presents an opportunity for financial advisors to demonstrate their value by guiding clients through enhanced security measures.