PayNorthwest, LLC

On April 23, 2020, PayNorthwest, LLC experienced a data breach due to a phishing attack targeting an employee’s email account. Unauthorized access exposed sensitive information, including the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of 585 individuals, with 2 Maine residents specifically impacted. The breach was reported to the Maine Office of the Attorney General on May 4, 2021, over a year after the incident occurred. While the exact extent of data misuse remains unclear, the exposure of SSNs poses a significant risk of identity theft and financial fraud. In response, PayNorthwest offered identity theft protection services to affected individuals as a mitigative measure. The delay in disclosure and the nature of the compromised data highly sensitive personal identifiers heighten concerns over potential long-term repercussions for victims, including unauthorized credit applications, tax fraud, or other malicious activities leveraging the stolen information.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/dbe601a3-79cf-4f60-819e-35fffa427449.shtml

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

"id": "pay718082025",
"linkid": "paynw",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "4/2020",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 585,
                        'name': 'PayNorthwest, LLC',
                        'type': 'Private Company'},
                       {'customers_affected': 2,
                        'industry': 'Legal/Regulatory',
                        'location': 'Maine, USA',
                        'name': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General',
                        'type': 'Government Agency'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Phishing',
 'customer_advisories': ['Identity Theft Protection Services Offered'],
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 585,
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (Personally Identifiable '
                                        'Information)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers']},
 'date_detected': '2020-04-23',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2021-05-04',
 'description': 'The Maine Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving PayNorthwest, LLC on May 4, 2021. The breach '
                'occurred on April 23, 2020, due to unauthorized access from a '
                "phishing incident affecting a PayNorthwest employee's email "
                'account, potentially exposing the Social Security numbers of '
                '585 individuals, with 2 residents specifically affected. '
                'Identity theft protection services were offered following the '
                'incident.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs exposed)',
            'systems_affected': ['Employee Email Account']},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Phishing Email (Employee '
                                          'Compromise)',
                           'high_value_targets': ['Employee Email Account']},
 'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': ['Phishing Attack Leading to '
                                            'Unauthorized Email Access']},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2021-05-04',
                 'source': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Maine Office of the '
                                                        'Attorney General']},
 'response': {'remediation_measures': ['Offered Identity Theft Protection '
                                       'Services']},
 'title': 'Data Breach at PayNorthwest, LLC Due to Phishing Incident',
 'type': 'Data Breach',
 'vulnerability_exploited': 'Human (Employee Email Compromise)'}