FCS Financial

On June 16, 2021, the Iowa Attorney General's Office disclosed a data breach affecting FCS Financial, a financial services institution. The incident involved unauthorized access to sensitive personal and financial data, exposing individuals associated with the company to potential risks. Compromised information included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and financial records, though the exact number of affected individuals remains undisclosed. The breach poses significant threats to the victims, as exposed data particularly Social Security numbers and financial details can be exploited for identity theft, fraud, or phishing attacks. While the full scope of the breach is still under investigation, the exposure of such highly sensitive information suggests a severe compromise of customer trust and regulatory compliance. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in FCS Financial’s cybersecurity measures, potentially leading to legal repercussions, financial losses for affected individuals, and reputational damage for the company. Given the nature of the stolen data, affected individuals may face long-term consequences, including unauthorized financial transactions, credit score manipulation, or targeted scams. The breach also raises concerns about FCS Financial’s ability to safeguard client data, which could erode customer confidence and impact future business operations.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/41bc0302-b341-4010-80ad-ed9d977c8503.shtml

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

"id": "nor028091825",
"linkid": "northwestfcs",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "6/2021",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown',
                        'industry': 'Agricultural Lending / Financial Services',
                        'location': 'Iowa, USA',
                        'name': 'FCS Financial',
                        'type': 'Financial Services'}],
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['names',
                                                         'addresses',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes SSNs and financial '
                                        'data)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal Information (PII)',
                                              'Financial Information']},
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2021-06-16',
 'description': "The Iowa Attorney General's Office reported a data breach "
                'involving FCS Financial on June 16, 2021. The breach involved '
                'unauthorized access to certain data, potentially affecting '
                'personal information such as names, addresses, Social '
                'Security numbers, and financial information of individuals '
                'associated with FCS.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['names',
                                 'addresses',
                                 'Social Security numbers',
                                 'financial information'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'Potential (due to exposed PII)',
            'payment_information_risk': 'Potential (financial information '
                                        'exposed)'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2021-06-16',
                 'source': "Iowa Attorney General's Office"}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Iowa Attorney '
                                                        "General's Office"]},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure via Iowa Attorney '
                                        "General's Office"},
 'title': 'FCS Financial Data Breach (2021)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}