John Stokes Financial

The California Office of the Attorney General disclosed a data breach at John Stokes Financial (JSF) in February 2022, initially detected on October 14, 2021, when suspicious activity was observed in an employee’s email account. An investigation was launched, revealing that personal information was potentially compromised, though the exact number of affected individuals and the specific types of exposed data remain undisclosed. The breach originated from an internal email account, suggesting either phishing, credential theft, or unauthorized access by an external or insider threat. While the full scope of the incident is unclear, the exposure of personal information likely including sensitive employee or customer details poses risks such as identity theft, financial fraud, or reputational harm to the firm. The delayed discovery (nearly four months between breach and detection) further exacerbates concerns about JSF’s cybersecurity monitoring and incident response protocols. As a financial services provider, JSF handles highly sensitive data, making it a prime target for cybercriminals. The lack of transparency regarding the affected data types (e.g., Social Security numbers, financial records, or client communications) leaves stakeholders vulnerable to downstream risks. Regulatory scrutiny under California’s data protection laws (e.g., CCPA) may also impose legal and compliance penalties depending on the breach’s severity and mitigation efforts.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-550682

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/john-stokes-financial

"id": "joh010091825",
"linkid": "john-stokes-financial",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "10/2021",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Finance',
                        'location': 'California, USA',
                        'name': 'John Stokes Financial (JSF)',
                        'type': 'Financial Services'}],
 'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'type_of_data_compromised': 'Personal information'},
 'date_detected': '2021-10-14',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2022-02-03',
 'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving John Stokes Financial (JSF) on February 3, '
                '2022. The breach was discovered on October 14, 2021, when JSF '
                'launched an investigation into suspicious activity from an '
                "employee's email account. The incident potentially "
                'compromised personal information, but the exact number of '
                'individuals affected and specific types of data involved are '
                'unknown.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Personal information (unspecified)'},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Employee email account'},
 'investigation_status': 'Investigation launched (status unclear)',
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2022-02-03',
                 'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'California Office of '
                                                       'the Attorney General'},
 'response': {'incident_response_plan_activated': True},
 'title': 'Data Breach at John Stokes Financial (JSF)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}