DentaQuest Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Information of Millions
DentaQuest, a Sun Life Insurance subsidiary that administers dental benefits nationwide, has confirmed a cybersecurity incident affecting at least 15 million individuals, with potential exposure exceeding 23.4 million. The breach, detected on May 20, involved unauthorized access to the company’s network between May 17 and May 20, during which attackers exfiltrated sensitive data.
Compromised information includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, Medicaid/Medicare IDs, treatment details, billing records, and insurance enrollment data. Some files also contained 1.7 million unique Social Security numbers, primarily linked to a Texas-based organization and potentially involving children. The leaked dataset, analyzed by Have I Been Pwned, revealed 2.6 million unique email addresses alongside other personal identifiers.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, alleging the theft of 234 GB of data after failed extortion attempts. The group later published portions of the stolen records on its leak site. DentaQuest has not publicly attributed the attack but engaged Kroll to assist with forensic investigation and data review.
Notification letters began rolling out in July, with filings to attorneys general in Texas, Massachusetts, and South Carolina indicating at least 4.5 million individuals have been alerted so far. Affected parties are being offered 24 months of credit monitoring, fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration services.
DentaQuest, which serves Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and employer-based dental plans across all 50 states, continues to review the incident as new records are identified. The breach underscores the risks to large-scale health and insurance data, with some exposed files dating back to 2009.
Source: https://beinsure.com/news/dentaquest-data-breach-exposes-health-info/
DentaQuest cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/dentaquest
"id": "DEN1790958712",
"linkid": "dentaquest",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '15-23.4 million individuals',
'industry': 'Healthcare/Insurance',
'location': 'Nationwide (U.S.)',
'name': 'DentaQuest',
'size': 'Large',
'type': 'Insurance Subsidiary'}],
'attack_vector': 'Unauthorized network access',
'customer_advisories': '24 months of credit monitoring, fraud consultation, '
'and identity theft restoration services offered to '
'affected parties',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': '234 GB of data',
'number_of_records_exposed': '23.4 million (potential), 15 '
'million (confirmed)',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Names, addresses, '
'Social Security '
'numbers, '
'Medicaid/Medicare '
'IDs, email addresses',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Personal Identifiable '
'Information (PII), Protected '
'Health Information (PHI), '
'Insurance Data'},
'date_detected': '2024-05-20',
'description': 'DentaQuest, a Sun Life Insurance subsidiary that administers '
'dental benefits nationwide, confirmed a cybersecurity '
'incident affecting at least 15 million individuals, with '
'potential exposure exceeding 23.4 million. The breach '
'involved unauthorized access to the company’s network between '
'May 17 and May 20, during which attackers exfiltrated '
'sensitive data including names, addresses, Social Security '
'numbers, Medicaid/Medicare IDs, treatment details, billing '
'records, and insurance enrollment data. The hacking group '
'ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, alleging '
'the theft of 234 GB of data after failed extortion attempts.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'High',
'data_compromised': 'Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, '
'Medicaid/Medicare IDs, treatment details, '
'billing records, insurance enrollment data, '
'email addresses',
'identity_theft_risk': 'High',
'systems_affected': 'DentaQuest network'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'motivation': 'Extortion',
'ransomware': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes'},
'references': [{'source': 'Have I Been Pwned'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['HIPAA',
'State Data Breach Laws'],
'regulatory_notifications': 'Filings to attorneys '
'general in Texas, '
'Massachusetts, and '
'South Carolina'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Notification letters to affected '
'individuals, filings to attorneys '
'general',
'third_party_assistance': 'Kroll (forensic investigation and '
'data review)'},
'threat_actor': 'ShinyHunters',
'title': 'DentaQuest Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Information of Millions',
'type': 'Data Breach'}