Optima Tax Relief experienced a data breach in May 2025, exposing sensitive information of over 3,100 individuals, with Chaos claiming responsibility. The incident highlights ongoing ransomware threats targeting financial services and data security. #Chaos #OptimaTaxRelief
Keypoints
- Optima Tax Relief notified over 3,100 individuals of a data breach involving Social Security and account numbers.
- Ransomware gang Chaos claimed to have stolen 69 GB of data during the attack.
- The breach occurred between May 1 and May 6, 2025, with unauthorized access detected by Optima.
- Chaos employs double-extortion tactics and has targeted both individuals and organizations since 2021.
- Ransomware attacks on US financial firms have escalated in 2025, affecting over 167,000 records with some firms paying ransoms to prevent data exposure.