Vertafore has acknowledge a data breach that has exposed the driver’s license records of some 28 million Texans, thanks to unsecured files.
Vertafore is a company that serves the insurance industry, helping companies keep up with technology and the changing demands of the market. One of Vertafore’s key features is its ability to help agencies “unlock the power of data to drive growth.”
Unfortunately for 28 million Texas drivers, Vertafore didn’t do enough to protect the data it had access to. According to the company’s announcement, three data files were left unsecured on an external storage service and accessed by unauthorized parties.
The information contained pre-February 2019 driver information, including “Texas driver license numbers, as well as names, dates of birth, addresses and vehicle registration histories.” The data files did not contain Social Security numbers or financial information.
Vertafore has since secured the files, launched an investigation, hired an experienced consulting firm and is working with law enforcement. Despite their efforts at damage control, this is just the latest incident that demonstrates the challenges inherent with a data-driven society.