69 Thousand People Affected by P2 Energy Solutions Hack

There are a lot of places you would never think of as being a target for hackers. However, when these places, companies, or platforms are hacked, we’re never really surprised. It makes sense that a power company would be hacked, as we established with the Upper Peninsula Power Company hack, as they contain very personal information about its clients. An accounting provider for insurance companies would be an even more ideal target, as it will have access to a lot more information across multiple states, regions, and sometimes countries.

How Did the Attack Occur?

On November 17, 2021, P2 discovered suspicious activity on some of its servers. P2 immediately launched an investigation and found that between November 8 and 17, 2021, an unauthorized party gained access to sensitive client information. There wasn’t much data involved, as the victims only had a bit of their PII (personally identifying information) involved, but the hack impacted almost 70 thousand people. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

The only information the hacker accessed seemed to be names and social security numbers. While this is very unfortunate for everyone involved, we must look at how lucky the victims are to have had the hacker access only these two details instead of credit or debit cards, addresses, birthdays, and other information. Having any unauthorized party access your PII is horrid and frightening, but there are upsides to most situations, and we hope that you look at the silver lining in this one.

How Did P2 Admit to the Breach?

P2 admitted to the data breach over a year after its discovery. This has left many people wondering if they can trust the company. The company’s clients lived blissfully ignorant for over a year after the attacker stole their data, completely unaware of the danger they were – and still are – in.

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

There is a high chance that the hacker will sell the information they accessed. A social security number is only worth about a dollar, but no one will turn down 69 thousand dollars, especially if all they have to do is sit behind a computer and watch a screen. There are thousands of real people affected by this breach, and we hope they manage to stay safe in today’s tumultuous times.

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

Following a breach of this magnitude, there are only so many steps one can take. P2 is offering free credit monitoring to all the breach’s victims, letting them monitor their credit scores and reports. It is also important t watch these things on your own; you can look at your credit report once a year, free of charge, so we recommend following your own progress with such. We also need you to remember one very important thing: the hacker has your name. They can go to an online database, look you up, and find your phone number, thus calling and scamming you. Be careful of strange calls, texts, and emails, as this is detrimental to your safety.