Virginia Farm Bureau
Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

February 16, 2024 -- Attention: victims of the Virginia Farm Bureau data breach.

Abington Cole + Ellery is investigating the recently announced Virginia Farm Bureau data breach.

On October 11, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security informed Virginia Farm Bureau that there was a potential breach in their computer systems. In response, Virginia Farm Bureau initiated an investigation and containment measures. To aid in these efforts, a digital forensic firm specializing in such incidents was engaged. The situation escalated on October 16, 2022, when Virginia Farm Bureau's systems began to show signs of active ransomware encryption. In an effort to halt the spread of the malware, Virginia Farm Bureau claims it swiftly disconnected affected systems from their network and immediately informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the encryption activities.

Further investigation by Virginia Farm Bureau revealed that from October 6, 2022, to October 16, 2022, an unauthorized party had access to some of their systems, and there was a possibility that files on these systems had been accessed or extracted. Consequently, Virginia Farm Bureau, with the help of external data review experts, undertook a detailed examination of the unstructured data on the compromised systems. This examination revealed that sensitive information was indeed present in the affected data.

Following this discovery, Virginia Farm Bureau performed an additional examination of its records to accurately identify and gather contact information for individuals who might have been impacted by this breach. This step was necessary to ensure that these individuals could be notified appropriately.

As a result of the data breach, Virginia Farm Bureau is offering 12 months of free credit monitoring and/or identity theft protection services to affected individuals.

Approximately 261,100 individuals were affected by the Virginia Farm Bureau data breach.

Breached data may include, but is not necessarily limited to: names, driver’s license or state identification numbers, Social Security numbers, and financial account data.

Additional information about the Virginia Farm Bureau data breach may be found here: Virginia Farm Bureau Data Breach Notification.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau is an organization centered on insurance offerings and agricultural support in Virginia. Their services encompass a variety of insurance types such as vehicle, home, property, farm, crop, business, and life insurance. They also engage in agricultural advocacy and provide resources for grain marketing and business development. Membership in the organization comes with various benefits, including discounts on farming-related products and services. They also provide informational content on farming and rural life.

For more information about steps you can take to possibly reduce the chances harm arising from a data breach, please review the following article: What are some steps you can take if you've been the victim of a data breach?

If you believe you are a victim of the Virginia Farm Bureau data breach, and would like to participate in a class action lawsuit regarding this data breach, please submit your information via the form on this webpage. This website is not associated with nor authorized by Virginia Farm Bureau or any affiliated companies.