Data breaches have become alarmingly common and costly, putting sensitive information at risk. In fact, the number of data breaches in the United States jumped from 447 in 2012 to over 3,200 in 2023.
Even firms entrusted with managing personal information are not immune. The latest example is VeriSource Services, a Texas-based employee benefits and HR administration provider that experienced a major data breach.
The personal information of about 4 million people was exposed in this incident, and it took the company over a year to fully assess its impact, a critical failure for an organization specializing in data management, employee enrollment and HR support services that clients rely on to safeguard their most sensitive information.
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What happened at VeriSource?
VeriSource discovered the breach Feb. 28, 2024, when it noticed unusual activity disrupting some of its systems. The company later determined an unknown attacker had gained unauthorized access around Feb. 27, 2024, stealing data on or about that date.
Somehow, it took VeriSource over a year to determine the full scope of the breach, including the identification all individuals who had their information exposed.
According to the investigation, this was a criminal cyberattack carried out by external threat actors (hackers), as opposed to an insider mishandling data. The perpetrators accessed sensitive personal records stored by VeriSource. In a sample notice filed with state authorities, VeriSource reported that the compromised information included individuals’ full names, mailing addresses, dates of birth, gender and Social Security numbers (via BleepingComputer).
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Impact on affected individuals
For individuals whose data was exposed, this breach poses real risks. Information like your Social Security number, birth date and address can be misused for identity theft, such as opening fraudulent accounts or filing false tax returns in your name. Even beyond financial fraud, having such personal data in the wrong hands can lead to targeted phishing scams.
What worries me the most is the delay in fully notifying everyone affected. VeriSource had sent out preliminary breach notices to about 55,000 people in May 2024 and then to another 112,000 people in September 2024. However, those early notifications covered only a small fraction of the approximately 4 million victims eventually identified. This means the majority of affected individuals did not learn of the breach until the final notification wave in April 2025, more than a year after the data was actually compromised.
We reached out to VeriSource for a comment but did not hear back before our deadline.
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5 ways to protect yourself after the VeriSource data breach
If you think you were affected by the VeriSource data breach or just want to be cautious, here are some steps you can take right now to stay safe from the data breach:
1. Consider a personal data removal service: VeriSource hackers have access to your name, Social Security number, mailing address and more, which they can easily use against you. The more exposed your personal information is online, the easier it is for scammers to scam you. After the VeriSource breach, consider removing your information from public databases and people-search sites. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
2. Safeguard against identity theft and use identity theft protection: Hackers now have access to high-value information from the VeriSource breach, including Social Security numbers. This makes you a prime target for identity theft. You can freeze your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals. Signing up for identity theft protection gives you 24/7 monitoring, alerts for unusual activity and support if your identity is stolen. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft.
3. Set up fraud alerts: Requesting fraud alerts notifies creditors that they need extra verification before issuing credit in your name. You can request fraud alerts through any one of the three major credit bureaus. They’ll notify the others. This adds another layer of protection without completely freezing access to credit.
4. Monitor your credit reports: Check your credit reports regularly through AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can access free reports from each bureau once per yearor more frequently if you’re concerned about fraud. Spotting unauthorized accounts early can prevent larger financial damage.
5. Be wary of social engineering attacks and use strong antivirus software: Hackers may use stolen details like names or birthdates from breaches in phone scams or fake customer service calls designed to trick you into revealing more sensitive info. Never share personal details over unsolicited calls or emails. Also, never click on unexpected links or attachments in emails, texts or messages because they may contain malware or lead to phishing sites designed to steal your information.
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
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Kurt’s key takeaway
What stands out in the VeriSource breach isn’t just the scale, but the silence. When a company sits on breach data for over a year, regardless of intent, it erodes trust in systems designed to protect workers. These aren’t just compliance failures. They’re human ones. Four million people had their most sensitive information exposed, and for many of them, the warning came far too late. This should be a moment of reckoning for how organizations define responsibility after a breach. A timely response isn’t just good PR. It’s a baseline expectation. And if it takes over a year to realize the full scope of a cyberattack, maybe the incident isn’t the only vulnerability worth addressing.
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