On July 13, 2023, The Franklin Mutual Insurance Group (“FMI”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Vermont after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to gain access to FMI’s computer network. In this notice, FMI explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information. Upon completing its investigation, FMI began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from the Franklin Mutual Insurance Group, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, to protect your privacy and prevent identity theft, companies have a legal obligation to keep your private information secure. Thus, when a company’s negligence causes or contributes to a data breach, victims may be able to hold the company financially liable through a data breach lawsuit. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft as well as discuss your legal options following the Franklin Mutual Insurance data breach.

What Caused the Franklin Mutual Insurance Breach?

The Franklin Mutual Insurance data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, FMI’s filing with the Attorney General of Vermont provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, FMI recently determined that an unauthorized actor was able to access the company’s computer system as a result of a ransomware attack. While FMI provides little background about what led up to the incident, it notes that the unauthorized access occurred on March 11, 2023.

In response, FMI terminated all unauthorized access, notified the FBI, and then launched an investigation into the incident. The FMI investigation confirmed that the unauthorized party accessed and downloaded consumers’ personal information that was stored on the company’s computer system.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was…