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Verizon insider data breach hits over 63,000 employees. Verizon Communications is warning that an insider data breach impacts almost half its workforce, exposing sensitive employee information. Verizon is an American telecommunications and mass media company providing cable TV, telecommunications, and internet services to over 150 million subscribers across the U.S. The company has more than 117,000 workers and has an annual revenue of 136.8 billion (2022). A data breach notification shared with the Office of the Maine Attorney General reveals that a Verizon employee gained unauthorized access to a file containing sensitive employee information on September 21, 2023. Verizon discovered the breach on December 12, 2023, nearly three months later, and determined it contained sensitive information of 63,206 employees.  The data that was exposed varies per employee but could include: However, this incident does not appear to impact customer information. Verizon says it is actively working towards strengthening its internal security to prevent similar incidents from occurring again in the future and noted that at this time, there are no signs of malicious exploitation or evidence of the data having been widely leaked. "At this time, we have no evidence that this information has been misused or shared outside of Verizon as a result of this issue," reads the Verizon data breach notification. "We are working to ensure our technical controls are enhanced to help prevent this type of situation from reoccurring and are notifying applicable regulators about the matter." To protect exposed individuals from the risks posed by the security incident, Verizon has enclosed instructions on enrolling in a two-year identity theft protection and credit monitoring service in the notices sent to impacted employees. BleepingComputer contacted Verizon to learn if the incident has been referred to law enforcement but a reply was not immediately available. Verizon has had a relatively calm period regarding cybersecurity incidents in the past few years. The firm's last major incident was announced in October 2022, when hackers attempted to perform SIM swaps to hijack customer accounts. Although Verizon says it blocked the activity and reversed unauthorized changes, sensitive customer information such as partial credit card data, names, telephone numbers, billing addresses, and other service-related info was exposed.

Daily Brief Summary

DATA BREACH // Verizon Insider Triggers Data Breach Affecting Over 63,000 Employees

Verizon Communications has reported an insider data breach affecting roughly 63,206 of its employees.

Sensitive employee data, which may vary per individual, was unauthorizedly accessed by a company insider on September 21, 2023.

The breach was discovered by Verizon nearly three months later on December 12, 2023, after the internal exploitation took place.

There's no current evidence to suggest misuse of the data or indications that it was distributed outside of Verizon.

Verizon is taking steps to enhance its internal security and prevent further breaches, while also notifying regulators about the incident.

Impacted employees are being offered a two-year identity theft protection and credit monitoring service for protection against any potential identity fraud.

The incident has not affected any customer information according to Verizon's statement.

The last significant cybersecurity issue Verizon faced prior, was in October 2022 regarding attempted SIM swaps that exposed customer data.