Conduent said it may face additional financial risks related to a January 2025 attack that impacted a number of state governments and other organizations.
The attack at the New Jersey-based payments contractor led to data breaches across a number of organizations, including state government agencies and insurance providers. In the state of Wisconsin, child support payments were temporarily disrupted.
The stolen data involved a significant amount of personal information belonging to the end users of Conduent clients, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Conduent accrued $25 million in non-recurring expenses during the first quarter related to breach disclosure requirements. The company began issuing notifications in October, with filings made to the Maine and California attorneys general and to numerous other agencies.
According to the SEC filing, Conduent made cash disbursements related to breach notifications of $9 million through the end of September and expects to make another $16 million through the end of the first quarter of 2026.
The company said its cyber insurance policy should cover any additional expenses related to notification requirements. Conduent also warned that it could face future financial fallout from impacted data, litigation, reputational harm or regulatory actions.
In October, Conduent confirmed the hack actually originated during an October 2024 intrusion.
Widespread data breach fallout
As Cybersecurity Dive reported last month, Premera Blue Cross, based in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., confirmed that customer data was breached in the Conduent attack. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana also confirmed that its members were impacted by the attack.
The Montana State Auditor and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance has launched an Investigation into the breach and how BCBSM handled the incident. The personal data of up to 462,000 Montana customers may be at risk, according to the office.
A spokesperson for BCBSM last month said they do not comment on pending litigation.
