PKWARE’s September 2024 Data Breach Report covers several large breaches that hit millions of people worldwide. The MC2 Data leak exposed data on more than 100 million Americans, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.
Breaches at CBIZ and Stillwater Mining Company showed how hard personal data still is to guard. The Microchip Technology attack was blamed on the Play Ransomware group. It hit a chip supplier, held up work, and exposed staff records.
Other breaches of note included a Disney Slack leak of 1.1 terabytes. A Slim CD Inc. breach hit about 1.7 million people. Avis Car Rental had an incident that reached around 300,000 customers.
There was also a ransomware attack on Kawasaki Motors Europe, and a breach that exposed data on 30,000 Franklin County, Kansas residents. Taken together, the month makes the case for stronger cybersecurity across every sector. For up-to-date reports on recent data breach incidents, check out our dedicated data breaches in 2025 page.
Microchip Technology’s Ransomware Attack
The Microchip Technology data breach of August 2024 was a serious one. It exposed staff records and held up work at the chip maker.
The Play Ransomware group carried out the attack. It took staff data and, for a time, left the company unable to fill orders.
- Scale of the Breach: How far it reached is still being looked into. Several plants were affected, and staff data held in certain company IT systems was taken.
- Type of Data Exposed: Staff contact details, plus some encrypted and hashed passwords. There is no sign that customer or supplier data was taken.
- Cause of the Breach: Investigators put the breach down to a ransomware attack. The attackers got into Microchip’s systems without permission. They then locked the data and asked for a ransom, or they would publish what they had taken and disrupt work further.
The Microchip Technology breach makes the case for better cybersecurity in manufacturing, and in chip making above all. The company moved quickly to cut off the affected systems and bring in outside cybersecurity experts. That speed is what limits the damage.
Bleeping Computer | Heimdal Security
MC2 Data Breach Exposes 100 Million Records
The MC2 data breach of 2024 was a large one. It exposed the personal data of 100 million Americans, which is a sizeable share of the public.
The leak held names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and financial details. It also showed how much risk sits in a supply chain.
- Scale of the Breach: The leaked data covered about 100 million Americans, which makes it one of the largest breaches in recent years.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and financial details.
- Cause of the Breach: Investigators trace it to a database that was set up wrongly and left open online.
The case makes the argument for stronger data protection and cybersecurity right along the supply chain. Guarding data of this kind is hard, and this breach is a blunt reminder of what is at stake.
Security Daily Review | Infosecurity Magazine
Disney’s Major Data Breach
The Disney Slack data breach of July 2024 exposed more than 1.1 terabytes of private data. The hacktivist group “NullBulge” carried it out. The data came from close to 10,000 internal Slack channels.
- Scale of the Breach: At 1.1 terabytes, the leak ranks among the largest corporate breaches of recent years. It touched a wide span of Disney’s work.
- Type of Data Exposed: Private data, including details of unreleased projects and financial records. IT data, internal messages, source code, login details, and personal data on staff and customers also went.
- Cause of the Breach: Reports blame a Disney developer’s own machine. The developer installed a video game mod that carried malware, which let the hackers onto the network.
After the breach, Disney moved off Slack across the company. The move will be done by the end of the next fiscal quarter.
The case is a blunt reminder of what an insider threat can cost. NullBulge got onto Disney’s Slack platform and took 1.1 terabytes of private data. Every company should be checking its own internal systems on the strength of it.
CBIZ Breach Exposes Personal Information of Thousands
The June 2024 CBIZ data breach exposed the personal data of 36,000 people. A flaw on one of CBIZ’s web pages let it happen.
What went included names, Social Security numbers, and retiree health records.
- Scale of the Breach: About 36,000 people, linked to a number of CBIZ clients. Most of it was data on retiree health and welfare plans.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, contact details, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and in some cases dates of death.
- Cause of the Breach: An outside party used a flaw on one of CBIZ’s web pages to reach the databases. It ran between June 2 and June 21, 2024.
CBIZ found the breach on June 24, 2024, and began a review with outside cybersecurity experts that day. The company then fixed the flaw and added further controls.
The case shows how hard it is to guard this data, above all for a firm that holds a lot of personal and financial records. CBIZ gave everyone affected two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft cover.
CBIZ – Notice of Data Security Incident
Port of Seattle
A major US transport hub had a data breach in August 2024. In September 2024 it confirmed that the ransomware attack had reached personal data on some staff and customers.
- Scope of the Breach: The number of people affected has not been made public. It is thought to be large.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. It may also have included financial data tied to employment.
- Cause of the Breach: The Rhysida group confirmed it as a ransomware attack. The attackers reached parts of the Port’s computer systems and locked some data.
“Our investigation of what data the actor took is ongoing, but it does appear that the actor obtained some Port data in mid-to-late August,” the Port said, adding that it will notify employees or passengers if it learns that any of their information was stolen.”
Bleeping Computer | The Record
Stillwater Mining Company
The Stillwater Mining Company data breach of June 2024 exposed the personal data of 7,258 staff. It was found on July 8, 2024.
The data came from the only platinum and palladium mines in the United States.
- Scale of the Breach: 7,258 staff, whose personal and possibly financial data was taken.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, contact details, government IDs, passport numbers, Social Security numbers, tax IDs, and birth certificates. Financial data such as bank account numbers went too, along with medical data such as health plan numbers.
- Cause of the Breach: A cyberattack in mid-June 2024. The RansomHub group claimed the attack on July 22 and is said to have leaked everything it took on August 15.
Stillwater Mining Company took over a month to confirm the breach, announcing it on August 19, 2024. It brought in outside cybersecurity experts to look into it, and it is working with law enforcement to find who was behind it.
The company gave affected staff 24 months of free identity and credit monitoring through Experian’s IdentityWorks. It has also added further controls, among them live monitoring and endpoint detection.
The case shows how hard staff data is to guard, and makes the argument for stronger cybersecurity in mining.
Maine Attorney General – Data Breach Notification
Franklin County, Kansas Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Information of Nearly 30,000 Residents
In May 2024, Franklin County, Kansas had a breach that reached the personal data of thousands of residents. The County Clerk’s Office breach exposed a wide range of records, and it raises a fair question about data security in local government.
- Scale of the Breach: The breach affected 29,690 people, most of them Franklin County residents.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account details, and medical data. It also took data tied to county services, such as medical record numbers, vaccination records, COVID-related data, and insurance details.
- Cause of the Breach: A ransomware attack aimed at the county’s computer network.
County officials found the intrusion on May 20, 2024, and began work the same day. They brought in a digital forensics team to secure the network and find out how far the breach went.
The county also told federal law enforcement and helped with their inquiries. It then turned off dormant user accounts and reviewed its IT security rules.
Officials went through the affected data in detail, to work out who had been hit and to tell them.
Maine Attorney General – Data Breach Notification
Slim CD Data Breach Exposes 1.7 Million Customers’ Information
Slim CD Inc. is a payment gateway provider. It has reported a breach that reached the personal and financial data of about 1.7 million people.
The breach ran for close to ten months, which has put the payments sector on alert.
- Scale of the Breach: About 1.7 million Slim CD customers, whose personal and financial data was exposed.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, credit card numbers, and expiry dates.
- Cause of the Breach: An outside party was in Slim CD’s systems between August 17, 2023, and June 15, 2024.
Slim CD found the breach on June 15, 2024. The attackers had been in its systems since August 17, 2023.
Ten months inside says a great deal about the skill of the attack, and about how hard this is to spot. The company has since told those affected, brought in outside cybersecurity experts, and added further controls.
Anyone caught up in it should keep an eye on their credit reports and bank statements. Changing passwords and turning on two-factor sign-in are both worth doing.
Avis Car Rental Data Breach Exposes Nearly 300,000 Customers’ Information
In August 2024, Avis Car Rental had a breach that reached the personal data of about 300,000 customers. It was felt across both the motor and travel trades.
- Scale of the Breach: 299,006 people, whose personal data was exposed to an outside party.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and other personal data. In some cases bank account details and credit card data went too.
- Cause of the Breach: An outside party reached one of Avis’ business applications between August 3 and August 6, 2024.
Avis found the breach on August 5, 2024, when it spotted odd activity on its network. It then moved to contain the problem and brought in cybersecurity experts to judge how far it went.
The case points to a wider weakness at large firms that hold a lot of customer data. Watching for it, all the time, is the only answer.
Avis has begun telling those affected and is offering a year of free credit monitoring. It is also working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to tighten its controls.
Avis Rent A Car System, LLC – Notice of Data Breach
Popular French retailers
Truffaut, Boulanger, and Cultura had a data breach in September 2024 that reached the personal data of many customers. An outside party took customer records, among them names, addresses, email addresses, and credit card details.
- Scope of the Breach: Many customers across all three retailers, whose personal and financial data was taken. The exact number has not been made public, but it is thought to be large.
- Type of Data Exposed: Customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, and credit card details. Card data is easy to abuse and is often used for fraud.
- Cause of the Breach: Still being looked into. It is thought to be a cyberattack, perhaps using social engineering or a flaw in the retailers’ own systems.
All three retailers have owned up to the breach. They are working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to look into it and limit the harm.
Kawasaki Motors Europe Hit by Massive Data Breach
Kawasaki Motors Europe (KME) is part of Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan. In September 2024 it was hit by a serious breach that exposed customer records. The motor trade felt it, and it raised fresh doubts about how well data is guarded.
- Scale of the Breach: The RansomHub group claimed it took 487 gigabytes of data from KME’s systems, which could affect many customers across Europe.
- Type of Data Exposed: Names, addresses, contact details, and possibly financial data tied to purchases or warranties. Business papers, dealership records, and internal messages were among the leaked files.
- Cause of the Breach: The exact cause has not been made public. An outside party reached KME’s business applications between August 3 and August 6, 2024. The company spotted it on August 5 and moved at once to contain it.
KME cut off its servers and ran a thorough “cleansing process” to find and remove anything left behind. Its IT team and outside cybersecurity experts spent the week that followed checking the servers and linking them back up.
KME played the attack down. Even so, the RansomHub group put the data it claimed to hold on the dark web on September 5, 2024. That suggests KME chose not to deal with the attackers, and put getting its systems back first.