Insurance firm Globe Life to warn 850,000 of potential data theft following extortion attempt

About 850,000 customers of insurance firm Globe Life are being warned of a data breach after the company told regulators about an extortion attempt by hackers.

In an updated filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said an investigation into the October 2024 incident revealed that hackers breached databases “maintained by a small number of independent agency owners.”

“The Company was not able to confirm if the threat actor acquired information from these databases at the targeted agencies beyond that relating to the approximately 5,000 individuals” originally affected by the incident, the Texas-based company said. 

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Company has also initiated the process to provide voluntary notifications to, and credit monitoring services for, approximately 850,000 additional individuals whose information was also stored in the relevant databases, even though the Company has not been able to confirm if the threat actor acquired these additional individuals’ data.”

In October, Globe Life said hackers attempted to extort the company after stealing information on 5,000 customers of a subsidiary named American Income Life Insurance Company. 

The hackers obtained Social Security numbers, names, addresses, health-related data and more. The company said the incident did not involve ransomware and reiterated that finding in the updated filing on Thursday. 

The filing this week confirmed that names, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, Social Security numbers, health data and insurance policy information were accessed by the hackers. 

Globe Life said it did not pay the extortion demand and instead notified federal law enforcement. Company officials are still in communication with regulatory authorities and law enforcement about the attack.

The company plans to cover the costs associated with the cyberattack through insurance but did not say how much has been spent.  

Much of this data was “distributed to short sellers and plaintiffs’ attorneys,” according to the filing. 

Globe Life reported $5.21 billion in revenue in 2023 and American Income Life Insurance Company is one of its premiere brands — with more than 4 million policies in force and about $297 million in annualized life premium sales.