On March 1, 2024, Whitley Penn discovered that an unauthorized person had gained access to employee email accounts and filed a data breach notification with the Massachusetts Attorney General. In the notice, Whitley Penn stated that this incident allowed unauthorized third parties to provide consumers with information such as their name, address, date of birth, driver’s license number, passport number, Social Security number, K-1 They explained that they now have access to sensitive information such as visas. information, taxpayer identification numbers, bank account information, PIN numbers, and financial information. Once Whitley Penn completed its investigation, it began sending data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by recent data security incidents.
If you receive a data breach notification from Whitley Penn, it is important to understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach attorney can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud and identity theft, and discuss your legal options after a Whitley Penn data breach. For more information, see our recent article on this topic. here.
What caused the Whitley Penn data breach?
The Whitley Penn data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected to be released in the near future. However, documents filed by Whitley Penn with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office contain important information about the circumstances that led to the breach. According to this source, on October 31, 2023, Mr. Whitley Penn detected suspicious activity within his employee’s email account. In response, Whitley Penn began an investigation with the help of his security experts to protect its network and third-party data.
Ultimately, Whitley Penn’s investigation determined that an unauthorized person had accessed an employee’s email account that contained a file containing sensitive consumer information.
After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to unauthorized parties, Whitley Penn investigated the compromised files to determine what information was exposed and which consumers were affected. I have identified what happened. Whitley Penn completed this process on November 1, 2023. Compromised information varies by individual, but includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, social security numbers, K-1 visa information, taxpayer identification numbers, bank account information, PIN numbers, and Financial information.
On March 1, 2024, Whitley Penn sent a data breach letter to everyone affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information in their possession was compromised.
More information about Whitley Penn
Whitley Penn is an accounting firm founded in 1983 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Whitley Penn offers a wide range of accounting-related services, including tax preparation, employee benefits, estate and gift planning, IRS disputes, forensics, litigation and valuation services. Whitley Penn employs more than 550 people and generates annual revenues of approximately $113 million.
