The California Office of the Attorney General disclosed a data breach affecting **Discover Financial Services**, which occurred on **May 1, 2015**, but was reported only on **November 21, 2017**. The incident involved unauthorized access to **Discover card account information**, though the exact scope of the compromised data—such as whether it included card numbers, customer names, or transaction details—remained undisclosed. The delay in reporting (over **two and a half years**) raised concerns about transparency and compliance with breach notification laws. While no explicit evidence suggested large-scale fraud or identity theft stemming from the breach, the exposure of financial account data posed risks such as **potential fraudulent transactions, phishing attacks targeting cardholders, or misuse of payment details**. The lack of clarity on the extent of the breach further complicated risk assessments for affected customers. Discover likely faced **reputational damage** due to the incident and the prolonged delay in disclosure, which could erode trust among consumers and regulators. The breach underscored vulnerabilities in payment system security and the importance of timely incident response.
Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-112325
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/discover-financial-services
"id": "dis034090625",
"linkid": "discover-financial-services",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2015",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "2",
"explanation": "Attack limited on finance or reputation"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Banking/Financial',
'location': 'United States (California)',
'name': 'Discover Financial Services',
'type': 'Financial Services'}],
'data_breach': {'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (financial)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Card account information']},
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2017-11-21',
'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
'breach involving Discover Financial Services. The breach '
'occurred on May 1, 2015, and involved Discover card account '
'information, though specific details on the data compromised '
'are unclear.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Discover card account information'],
'payment_information_risk': 'Potential (details unclear)'},
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2017-11-21',
'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['California Office of '
'the Attorney '
'General']},
'title': 'Discover Financial Services Data Breach (2015)',
'type': 'Data Breach'}