On November 14, 2023, the International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan (“IP Plan”) filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. In this notice, IP Plan explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information. Upon completing its investigation, IP Plan 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 International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan, 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 International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan Data Breach?

The International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, at this point, IP Plan’s filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights provides little information on what led up to the breach.

However, we do know that the incident involved unauthorized access to confidential information that had been provided to the Plan, most likely by employees of the International Paper Company. Additionally, the notice posted on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights “Breach Portal” indicates that the breach involved a “Hacking / IT incident” of a network server. In total, the IP Plan data breach affected the personal information of 78,692 individuals.

What we don’t know is whether the breach was the result of a cyberattack against the IP Plan or one of the Plan’s third-party vendors.

Regardless, after learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted.

On November 14, 2023, International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. While the IP Plan’s recent filing doesn’t mention the specific data types that were leaked, the data breach letters sent by the IP Plan should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About International Paper Company Group Health and Welfare Plan

International Paper Company Group Health & Welfare Plan is a corporate pension plan based in Memphis, Tennessee, and is for the benefit of International Paper Company employees. The Plan was established in 1992 and provides retirement, death, and disability benefits to eligible employees. The plan is managed by the executive management team of International Paper. International Paper Company employs more than 39,000 people and generates approximately $21 billion in annual revenue.