On February 16, 2024, CUSO Financial Services, LP (“CFS”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of California after discovering that a vulnerability within Barracuda Networks allowed an unauthorized party to access data belonging to CFS. In this notice, CFS explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information. Upon completing its investigation, CFS 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 CUSO Financial Services, LP or Barracuda Networks, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. 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 CUSO Financial Services / Barracuda Networks data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting CUSO Financial Services?

The Barracuda Networks / CUSO Financial Services data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, CFS’ filing with the Attorney General of California provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on October 20, 2023, CFS learned about a possible data security incident involving the company’s email applications, which was through Barracuda Networks. Evidently, Barracuda Networks experienced a vulnerability that allowed an unauthorized party to gain access to emails and attachments belonging to CFS employees.

In response to learning about this vulnerability, CFS launched an investigation. The CFS investigation determined that certain information from July 5, 2023 was accessible to an unauthorized party.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, CUSO Financial Services reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted.

On February 16, 2024, CUSO Financial Services sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About CUSO Financial Services, LP and Barracuda Networks

Founded in 1996, CUSO Financial Services, LP is a financial services company based out of San Diego, California. Specifically, SFC is a broker-dealer and subsidiary of Atria Wealth. CUSO Financial Services specializes in serving credit unions and banks, developing customized investment programs financial services professionals can then offer to their clients. CUSO Financial Services employs more than 670 people and generates approximately $345 million in annual revenue.

Founded in 2003, Barracuda Networks is a technology and business services company headquartered in Campbell, California. Barracuda Networks provides security, networking, and storage products based on network appliances and cloud services. Barracuda Networks employs approximately 2,000 people and generates over $487 million in revenue each year.