Venture capital firm Insight Partners has revealed that the data breach disclosed earlier this year was the result of a ransomware attack.
Insight Partners informed the public in mid-February that it had been targeted in a cyberattack. The attack was detected on January 16 and the attacker was kicked out on the same day, but the company admitted that sensitive data may have been stolen.
Indeed the VC firm confirmed in May that personal, financial, and other information pertaining to employees and partners had been compromised.
Insight Partners recently started sending out data breach notifications to impacted individuals. The Maine Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has received a copy of the notification, which reveals that the attackers gained access to the company’s systems on or around October 25, 2024, and the intrusion was detected on January 16 because that was when the hackers started encrypting files on the compromised servers.
This is the first time Insight Partners has confirmed that ransomware was involved in the incident. The notifications also show that the attackers used “sophisticated social engineering” to gain access to its servers in October 2024. It appears the hackers had ample time to exfiltrate information from the VC firm’s systems.
The Maine AGO has been informed that the data breach impacts more than 12,000 individuals, who are being offered free identity theft protection services.
No known ransomware group appears to have listed Insight Partners on its leak website, which could indicate that a ransom has been paid.
SecurityWeek has reached out to the VC firm for comment and will update this article if it responds.
Insight Partners has invested in over 875 companies worldwide and has more than $90 billion in regulatory assets under management. It has invested in major cybersecurity firms such as Armis, Aqua Security, Checkmarx, Recorded Future, SentinelOne, and Wiz.
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