The California Office of the Attorney General disclosed a **data breach** affecting **Discover Financial Services** in May 2017, though the incident itself occurred on **November 24, 2015**. The breach involved potential exposure of **account information**, though the exact nature of the compromised data—such as whether it included full financial details, personal identifiers, or transaction histories—was not specified. While no immediate evidence suggested large-scale fraud or identity theft, the lack of clarity on the scope of the breach raised concerns about unauthorized access to sensitive customer records.The delay in reporting (over **18 months**) further compounded risks, as affected individuals may have remained unaware of potential vulnerabilities in their accounts. Discover Financial Services, a major credit card issuer and payment processor, faced scrutiny over its data protection measures, particularly given the prolonged gap between the breach and public disclosure. Although no direct financial losses or systemic disruptions were confirmed, the incident highlighted gaps in timely breach notification and transparency, potentially eroding customer trust and exposing the company to regulatory penalties under data protection laws.
Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-68923
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/discover-financial-services
"id": "dis743082025",
"linkid": "discover-financial-services",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "11/2015",
"severity": "50",
"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': {'type_of_data_compromised': 'Account information'},
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2017-05-17',
'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
'breach involving Discover Financial Services. The breach '
'occurred on November 24, 2015, potentially affecting account '
'information, although the specific types of data compromised '
'remain unclear.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Account information (unspecified)'},
'references': [{'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'}