E. & J. Gallo Winery

The California Office of the Attorney General disclosed a data breach affecting E. & J. Gallo Winery in September 2017. The incident, detected on August 30, 2017, involved unauthorized access to sensitive personal data of 6,792 California residents. The exposed information included names, Social Security numbers, and financial account details, raising significant concerns over identity theft and financial fraud risks. While the exact method of breach (e.g., phishing, system vulnerability) was not specified, the compromise of such highly sensitive data—particularly financial and government-issued identifiers—poses severe long-term consequences for the affected individuals. The breach underscores vulnerabilities in the company’s data protection measures, potentially eroding customer trust and inviting regulatory scrutiny. No immediate evidence suggested the data was misused, but the exposure alone creates substantial liability and reputational harm. The incident aligns with broader trends of targeted attacks on corporations holding large volumes of consumer PII (Personally Identifiable Information).

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-101919

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/lifeatgallo

"id": "lif410082125",
"linkid": "lifeatgallo",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "8/2017",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 6792,
                        'industry': 'Beverage (Wine)',
                        'location': 'Modesto, California, USA',
                        'name': 'E. & J. Gallo Winery',
                        'type': 'Private Company'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Likely (unauthorized access reported)',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 6792,
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['names',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
                                              'Information (PII)',
                                              'Financial Data']},
 'date_detected': '2017-08-30',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2017-09-15',
 'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving E. & J. Gallo Winery on September 15, 2017. '
                'The breach, discovered on August 30, 2017, involved '
                'unauthorized access to data concerning 6,792 California '
                'residents, potentially exposing names, Social Security '
                'numbers, and financial account information.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['names',
                                 'Social Security numbers',
                                 'financial account information'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (PII and financial data exposed)',
            'payment_information_risk': 'High (financial account information '
                                        'exposed)'},
 'references': [{'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['California Data Breach '
                                                    'Notification Law '
                                                    '(likely)'],
                           'regulatory_notifications': ['California Office of '
                                                        'the Attorney '
                                                        'General']},
 'title': 'E. & J. Gallo Winery Data Breach (2017)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}