Pollard & Associates, Inc., a retirement plan consulting and third-party administration firm, suffered a data breach discovered on May 15, 2025, after detecting suspicious network activity. Investigation confirmed that an unauthorized actor had copied files as early as April 8, 2025. The breach exposed sensitive personal and financial data of 17,907 individuals, including names, Social Security numbers, and financial account information. The company initiated notifications to affected individuals via mail on September 16, 2025, and reported the incident to the Maine, Montana, and Vermont Attorney Generals' offices. In response, Pollard & Associates secured its systems, involved law enforcement, and offered 12 months of free IDX credit monitoring to victims. The breach posed significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and phishing attacks targeting exposed individuals. The incident underscored vulnerabilities in handling highly sensitive retirement and financial data, with potential long-term repercussions for trust and regulatory compliance.
Source: https://www.claimdepot.com/data-breach/pollard-associates-2025
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/strongpointpartners
"id": "str4792347091725",
"linkid": "strongpointpartners",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "4/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '17,907 individuals',
'industry': 'Retirement Plan Consulting and '
'Third-Party Administration',
'name': 'Pollard & Associates, Inc.',
'type': 'Private Company'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Notified via mail on September 16, 2025, with '
'recommendations for credit monitoring and fraud '
'prevention.',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': True,
'number_of_records_exposed': '17,907',
'personally_identifiable_information': True,
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes SSNs and financial '
'account details)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal Information',
'Financial Information']},
'date_detected': '2025-05-15',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-09-16',
'description': 'Pollard & Associates, Inc., an independent retirement plan '
'consulting and third-party administration firm, experienced a '
'data breach impacting thousands of individuals. An '
'unauthorized actor copied files containing sensitive personal '
'and financial information, including names, Social Security '
'numbers, and financial account details. The breach was '
'discovered on May 15, 2025, with the incident traced back to '
'April 8, 2025. At least 17,907 individuals were affected. The '
'company responded by securing its systems, notifying law '
'enforcement, and offering 12 months of free IDX credit '
'monitoring to impacted individuals.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential reputational damage due to '
'exposure of sensitive personal and '
'financial data',
'data_compromised': ['Names',
'Social Security numbers',
'Financial account information'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (due to exposure of SSNs and '
'financial account information)',
'legal_liabilities': 'Reporting to Maine, Montana, and Vermont '
"Attorney Generals' offices; potential "
'regulatory scrutiny',
'payment_information_risk': 'High (financial account information '
'exposed)'},
'initial_access_broker': {'high_value_targets': ['Personal data (SSNs)',
'Financial account '
'information']},
'investigation_status': 'Completed (as of July 15, 2025, when the scope of '
'the breach was determined)',
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Secured systems',
'Notified law enforcement',
'Offered 12 months of free '
'credit monitoring (IDX) to '
'affected individuals',
'State and federal '
'disclosures made']},
'ransomware': {'data_exfiltration': True},
'recommendations': ['Sign up for the free IDX credit monitoring services '
'provided by Pollard & Associates.',
'Monitor credit reports and financial accounts for '
'unusual activity.',
'Be alert for phishing emails or calls exploiting exposed '
'information.',
'Consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with '
'major credit bureaus.'],
'references': [{'source': 'Pollard & Associates Breach Notice (via Claim '
'Depot)'},
{'source': 'Pollard & Associates Website'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Maine Attorney '
'General (notified on '
'2025-09-16)',
'Montana Attorney '
'General (notified on '
'2025-09-16 or '
'2025-09-17)',
'Vermont Attorney '
'General (notified on '
'2025-09-16 or '
'2025-09-17)']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Mail notifications to affected '
'individuals (sent on 2025-09-16); '
'disclosures to state Attorney '
"Generals' offices (Maine, Montana, "
'Vermont on 2025-09-16 and 2025-09-17)',
'containment_measures': 'Systems secured',
'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
'law_enforcement_notified': True},
'threat_actor': 'Unauthorized actor',
'title': 'Pollard & Associates Data Breach (2025)',
'type': 'Data Breach'}