AXA Insurance data breach hits 5,400 customers in Singapore
Axa Insurance suffers security breach that compromised personal data belonging to its health portal customers
AXA Insurance has revealed it suffered a cybersecurity incident that compromised personal data of 5,400 customers in Singapore.
The breach affected users of its health portal including past customers, said its data protection officer, Eric Lelyon, in an e-mail Thursday to affected customers. No other alerts or notices were posted on its website.
Lelyon said the breach "exposed" the customer's e-mail address, date of birth, and mobile number, which was used to transmit one-time passwords (OTPs) when users transacted on the portal.
According to the portal, the OTPs were required for users to log into the site.
Lelyon noted that no other personal data was compromised, including credit card details, identification number, health status, and next-of-kin information. In his note, he said affected customers would not need to take any specific action, since the breach was "not likely to, on its own, expose you to identity theft".
Lelyon, though, urged users to be mindful of potential phishing attempts that aimed to extract additional personal data.
"In the unlikely event you feel that you may have inadvertently disclosed personal data as a result of a phishing attempt in the last few months, it is possible this could be connected to this hacking incident, and if so, we urge you to file a police report," he said.
He said AXA Insurance also had made a police report and was working with the authorities. He added that it had "taken all remedial actions" to safeguard its health portal and prevent a recurrence.
Ironically, the company in 2014 introduced an online risk insurance service in Singapore, touted to protect consumers and businesses against cyber threats.
Earlier this year, AXA Research Fund also pledged a grant of S$1.2 million over eight years to support a research programme that aimed to develop new ways of securing and protecting data and privacy. Led by a professor from Singapore Management University's School of Information Systems, the research was expected to create security models, algorithms, and analysis techniques to mitigate cybersecurity risks.
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