On July 26, 2023, Pension Benefit Information, LLC (“PBI”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Montana on behalf of Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“Transamerica Life”) after confirming that a vulnerability in the file-transfer program MOVEit resulted in confidential information of Transamerica Life customers being leaked. This is one of dozens of breaches involving PBI’s use of MOVEit, which, in total, have affected millions of individuals across the United States. Upon completing its investigation, PBI 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 PBI discussing the breach of Transamerica Life Insurance Company information, 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 PBI / Transamerica Life data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Transamerica Life Customers?

The PBI / Transamerica Life data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, PBI’s filing with the Attorney General of Montana provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, PBI provides audit and address research services for insurance companies, pension funds, and other organizations, including Transamerica Life. Throughout the regular course of business, Transamerica Life relies on PBI to perform these services.

PBI uses a file-transfer program called MOVEit. In late May, the developers of MOVEit discovered a critical vulnerability allowing unauthorized parties to access information stored on customers’ MOVEit servers. PBI’s MOVEit server was affected when hackers exploited the vulnerability and accessed the company’s MOVEit server. Because Transamerica Life provides confidential customer data to PBI, which was stored on PBI’s MOVEit server, the incident affected certain Transamerica Life customers.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, PBI reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. On July 26, 2023, PBI 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. Notably, the incident did not affect Transamerica Life’s computer system or its parent company, the Transamerica Corporation. All leaked data was stored on PBI’s MOVEit server.

More Information About Transamerica Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Life Insurance Company is a life insurance company that is owned and operated by The Transamerica Corporation. The Transamerica Corporation is a holding company that owns several life insurance companies and investment firms. Transamerica Corporation has major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Baltimore, Maryland; Norwood, Massachusetts; Exton, Pennsylvania; Harrison, New York; Denver, Colorado; Johns Creek, Georgia; Plano, Texas; and St. Petersburg, Florida. Transamerica Corp. employs more than 6,500 people and generates approximately $6.8 billion in annual revenue.