Posted On July 6, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
July 6, 2022 – East West Family of Companies reported a data breach after the company was targeted in a recent cybersecurity attack. As a result of the breach, the name and Social Security number of certain individuals was compromised. It has not been reported the number of individuals affected by the East West data breach. On July 1, 2022, East West sent out data breach letters to those individuals whose information was affected by the breach.
The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are going to begin interviewing victims of the breach to determine what damages they sustained and what legal claims may be available to them. If you recently received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH from East West Family of Companies, contact us at (866) 778-5500 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential contact form for a free case evaluation.
Below is a portion of the letter that East West Family of Companies sent to individuals affected by the data breach:
Dear [Redacted],
East West Family of Companies (“EW”) is writing to notify you of an incident that may have impacted the privacy of some of your information. Although we have no evidence of any identity theft or fraud occurring as a result of this incident, this letter provides an overview of the incident, our response, and resources available to you to help protect your information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened?
On November 8, 2021, EW discovered unauthorized access to certain computer systems on our network. We immediately took steps to secure our systems and launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party computer forensic specialists to determine what may have happened. We also worked extensively to restore system operations. The investigation determined that an unknown actor gained access to certain computer systems on our network, and between November 5 and November 8, 2021, accessed and/or acquired certain files from these systems. Although we have no evidence of any identity theft or fraud in connection with this incident, we reviewed the files at issue and on or about May 9, 2022, determined that some of the affected files contained information of our current and former employees and their dependents, including you. We have worked since this time to gather current address information and prepare an accurate notification to those who may be affected by this incident.
What Information Was Involved?
Our investigation determined your name and Social Security number may have been impacted by this incident. We have no evidence that your specific information was actually viewed, and we have no evidence of any actual or attempted fraudulent use of your information resulting from this incident. If information of your dependent(s) was involved, we are providing separate notifications to you for each dependent.
What We Are Doing.
We take this incident and the security of information in our care seriously. Upon learning of this incident, we moved quickly to investigate and respond to this incident, and to secure our environment. Our response included resetting relevant account passwords, reviewing the contents of the potentially accessed files and folders to determine whether they contained personal information, and reviewing internal systems to identify contact information for purposes of providing notice to potentially affected individuals. As part of our ongoing commitment to the security of information, we are also reviewing and enhancing existing policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event. Law enforcement has also been notified of this event.
We are also offering you access to complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services for [Redacted] months through Experian. These services include fraud consultation and identity theft restoration services. If you wish to activate the credit monitoring and identity protection services, you may follow the instructions included in the Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Personal Information.
What You Can Do.
We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. You may also review the information contained in the attached Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information. There you will also find more information on the complimentary credit monitoring services we are making available to you. While EW will cover the cost of these services, you will need to enroll yourself in the services we are offering, if you would like to do so.
For More Information.
We understand that you may have questions about this incident that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions, please call our dedicated assistance line at (833) 420-2822 toll-free Monday through Friday from 8 am – 10 pm Central, or Saturday and Sunday from 10 am – 7 pm Central (excluding major U.S. holidays). Be prepared to provide your engagement number [Redacted]. You may also write to EW at P.O. Box 9550, Avon, CO 81620. We sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may have caused.
