Cybercrime

2.5 Million Impacted by Data Breach at Nelnet Servicing

The data of more than 2.5 million individuals was compromised in a recent data breach at technology services provider Nelnet Servicing.

The impacted individuals have taken student loans from Edfinancial and OSLA, which have contracted Nelnet for various services, including an online portal that student loan borrowers can use to access their accounts.

Ionut Arghire

August 30, 2022

The data of more than 2.5 million individuals was compromised in a recent data breach at technology services provider Nelnet Servicing.

The services provider says threat actors gained access to its systems in June and maintained the unauthorized access until July 22.

Nelnet told Edfinancial and OSLA that the attackers exploited a vulnerability in its systems for initial access, and that the issue was addressed immediately after the unauthorized access was discovered, and the impacted systems secured.

On August 17, Nelnet determined that, while dwelling in its network, the threat actors behind the attack had access to certain student loan account registration information.

The exposed data includes the impacted individuals’ names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers, Nelnet said in a filing with the Maine Attorney General.

“This incident did not impact the security of your financial account numbers or payment information,” a copy of the letter that Edfinancial has been sending to the impacted individuals reads.

Nelnet did not share further information on the nature of the data breach.

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The technology services provider faces a potential class action lawsuit over the data breach. Law firm Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, says it has started an investigation into the incident, on behalf of the victims.

Written By Ionut Arghire

Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.

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