Attorney General James Secures 500000 from Auto Insurance Company Over Data Breach

pNEW YORK New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured 500000 from auto insurance company Noblr for failing to protect the personal information of more than 80000 New Yorkers as part of a data breach The data breach was part of an industrywide campaign by scammers to steal consumers personal information including drivers license numbers and dates of birth from online automobile insurance quoting applications The scammers then used some of the stolen drivers license information to file fraudulent unemployment claims at the height of the COVID19 pandemic In addition to Noblr Attorney General James also held GEICO and Travelers accountable for failing to protect New Yorkers personal information bringing the total amount secured from auto insurance companies for cybersecurity failures to 56 millionppAuto insurance companies offer drivers protection during emergencies but they must also protect their personal information from hackers and scammers said Attorney General James Noblr failed to secure its data systems making it easy for scammers to steal New Yorkers information and use some of the stolen information to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits Today we are holding Noblr accountable for being reckless with New Yorkers personal data and reminding all companies that they must prioritize cybersecurityppNoblr is an insurance company that allows consumers to obtain a price quote through an online insurance quoting tool Noblrs quoting tool exposed full plaintext drivers license numbers in a number of ways including on the backend of its website and in PDFs generated when a purchase was made Noblr also did not block users from entering the personal information of New York residents even though Noblr does not offer insurance products in New York ppNoblr discovered scammers exploiting the prefill vulnerability in January 2021 Noblr did not monitor its site traffic in real time causing delays in detecting the attack This failure to monitor site traffic also made it difficult to distinguish malicious activity from legitimate consumer inquiries The attack on Noblrs autoquoting tool exposed the data of approximately 80000 New York residents ppThe Office of the Attorney Generals investigation determined that the insurance company failed to adopt reasonable safeguards to protect private information In addition to paying 500000 in penalties Noblr is required to enhance its data security including byppAttorney General James has taken several actions to hold companies accountable for having poor cybersecurity and to improve data security practices Last month Attorney General James and DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris secured 113 million from GEICO and Travelers for having poor data security In October 2024 Attorney General James secured 225 million from a Capital Region health care provider for failing to protect the private information and medical data of New Yorkers In August 2024 Attorney General James and a multistate coalition secured 45 from a biotech company for failing to protect patient data In July Attorney General James launched two privacy guides a Business Guide to Website Privacy Controls and a Consumer Guide to Tracking on the Web to help businesses and consumers protect themselves In July Attorney General James also issued a consumer alert to raise awareness about free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services available for millions of consumers impacted by the Change Healthcare data breach In April 2023 Attorney General James released a comprehensive data security guide to help companies strengthen their data security practices In January 2022 Attorney General James released a business guide for credential stuffing attacks that detailed how businesses could protect themselves and consumersppThis matter was led by Assistant Attorneys General Gena Feist and Laura Mumm and former Assistant Attorneys General Hanna Baek and Ezra Sternstein Data Security Analyst Nishaant Goswamy and former Internet and Technology Analyst Joe Graham under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell and Bureau Chief Kim Berger of the Bureau of Internet and Technology Data analysis was provided by Data Analyst Casey Marescot and Data Scientist Blythe Davis under the supervision of Deputy Director Gautam Sisodia Director Victoria Khan former Director Megan Thorsfeldt and former Director Jonathan Werberg of the Research and Analytics Department The Bureau of Internet and Technology is a part of the Division for Economic Justice which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris DAngelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy ppWe value your privacyWe use cookies to enhance your browsing experience improve our content delivery and analyze our traffic We do not use cookies for advertising or marketing purposes By using this website you consent to our use of cookies You can learn more about how we collect and use information by reviewing our privacy policyp