On January 27, 2017, NEO Tech fell victim to a targeted email phishing attack, leading to a data breach that exposed sensitive employee information. The incident, reported by the California Office of the Attorney General on February 12, 2017, involved the unauthorized release of W-2 wage and tax data for approximately 80 employees. Compromised details included names, home addresses, income records, and Social Security Numbers (SSNs) critical personal and financial identifiers. The breach stemmed from a deceptive phishing scheme, likely exploiting human error to gain access to internal systems or email accounts containing the W-2 forms. Such data is highly valuable for identity theft, tax fraud, or further targeted attacks. While the breach was confined to employee records (with no indication of customer data or ransomware involvement), the exposure of SSNs and financial information poses long-term risks, including potential fraud, credit damage, or regulatory penalties for the company. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in employee-focused cybersecurity awareness and the persistent threat of phishing as a gateway for data exfiltration.
Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-66307
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/neo-technology-solutions
"id": "neo014091825",
"linkid": "neo-technology-solutions",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "1/2017",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '0',
'location': 'California, USA',
'name': 'NEO Tech',
'type': 'Company'}],
'attack_vector': 'Phishing (Email)',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes (Unauthorized Release)',
'file_types_exposed': ['W-2 Forms'],
'number_of_records_exposed': '80',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (Names, '
'Addresses, SSNs, '
'Income Data)',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (SSNs, Financial, and Personal '
'Data)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Employee W-2 Data',
'Personally Identifiable '
'Information (PII)']},
'date_detected': '2017-01-27',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2017-02-12',
'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported that '
'NEO Tech experienced a data breach on January 27, 2017, due '
'to an email phishing incident. This resulted in the '
'unauthorized release of employee W-2 wage and tax data, '
'compromising personal information such as names, addresses, '
'income, and Social Security Numbers of approximately 80 '
'employees.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential Reputation Damage (Employee '
'Data Breach)',
'data_compromised': ['Names',
'Addresses',
'Income Data',
'Social Security Numbers (SSNs)'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs and Personal Data Exposed)'},
'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Phishing Email',
'high_value_targets': 'Employee W-2 Data'},
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Human Error (Successful Phishing '
'Attack)'},
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2017-02-12',
'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported to California '
'Office of the Attorney '
'General'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public Disclosure via California '
'Office of the Attorney General'},
'title': 'NEO Tech Data Breach via Phishing Incident (2017)',
'type': 'Data Breach',
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Human Error (Falling for Phishing Scam)'}