Posted On October 7, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
On October 6, 2022, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company reported a data breach with the Texas Attorney General’s Office after sensitive consumer information that had been entrusted to the company was subject to unauthorized access. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, state identification numbers, and financial account information. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, MassMutual began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the MassMutual data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
The available information regarding the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance breach comes from the company’s filing with the Texas Attorney General. However, MassMutual has not yet publicly released the data breach letters that it sent to victims of the breach, nor has it posted notice of the incident on its website. Thus, there is currently limited information about the MassMutual breach.
However, according to the Texas AG’s “Data Security Breach Reports” page, the MassMutual data breach resulted in the names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses numbers, state identification numbers, and financial account information of an estimated 1,472 Texas residents being leaked. And because MassMutual does business throughout the country, the chances are good that the total number of U.S. victims is much higher.
On October 6, 2022, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Founded in 1851, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company is one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the country. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, the company offers a wide range of insurance, retirement planning and investment products. As of 2022, Forbes ranked MassMutual as number 100 in the largest 500 companies by revenue. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance employs more than 9,974 people and generates approximately $23 billion in annual revenue.
When you decided to trust MassMutual with your information, you assumed that the company would do everything possible to keep it safe. However, news of the MassMutual data breach may raise your suspicions about the company’s data security measures and whether it could have done more to prevent this type of cyberattack.
Regardless of the industry, all businesses have a legal obligation to protect the consumer information in their possession. Although creating and maintaining a data security system is costly, this is a necessary expense, given the frequency with which cyberattacks occur.
Consumers whose personal, identifying, financial or healthcare-related data was compromised in a data breach can pursue legal action against an employer that misused or mishandled their information. Typically, to recover compensation from a company after a data breach, a victim must show that the company was negligent in how it stored, transmitted, or used their information. While there are many ways companies might be negligent, some of the most common include the following:
While large corporations don’t carry out the cyberattacks that result in consumer information ending up in the hands of criminals, they are in the best position to prevent these attacks from occurring. In this way, data breach lawsuits can not only connect victims of a breach with meaningful compensation but also encourage companies to take a more serious approach to their data privacy practices.
Importantly, the investigation into the MassMutual breach is only in its infancy. For that reason, it is too early to tell if MassMutual can be held legally responsible for the breach. However, data breach attorneys are investigating the recent security breach to determine the potential legal remedies for affected consumers.
At Console & Associates, P.C., our consumer privacy lawyers monitor all security and data breaches to help affected consumers pursue their legal remedies. We offer free consultations to victims of data breaches and can explain your rights in clear, understandable terms so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed with your case. If you’ve been affected by the MassMutual data breach or any other data security incident, Console & Associates, P.C., will investigate your case at no charge and offer you thorough advice about how to most effectively proceed with your case. If you decide to bring a case, we only get paid if you do. If your claim is successful, any legal fees are either paid by the defendant or come out of the funds recovered from the defendant. If your claim doesn’t result in a recovery, you will pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
