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28-07-2025
WASHINGTON: Hackers have stolen personal information of a majority of insurance firm Allianz Life’s 1.4 million customers in North America, its parent company said.
“On July 16, 2025, a malicious threat actor gained access to a third-party, cloud-based CRM system used by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life),” Allianz said in a statement to media.
The German parent company added that the hackers were “able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life’s customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique”.
The data breach was only related to Allianz Life, according to the company.
The insurance giant disclosed the data breach in a legal filing with the attorney general in the US state of Maine.
In the statement, the insurance company said it had taken “immediate action” to contain the breach and had notified the FBI.
It said that there was “no evidence the Allianz Life network or other company systems were accessed, including our policy administration system”.
Allianz which has over 125 million customers globally, added that it was in the process of contacting and assisting the individuals affected by the data breach.
Allianz which has over 125 million customers globally, added that it was in the process of contacting and assisting the individuals affected by the data breach.
A social engineering cyber-attack is when hackers pressure or trick users into giving away sensitive information, such as by impersonating a trusted company or person.
Meanwhile, a dating safety app that allows women to do background checks on men and anonymously share “red flag” behavior has been hacked, exposing thousands of members’ images, posts and comments.
Tea Dating Advice, a US-based women-only app with 1.6 million users, said there had been “unauthorized access” to 72,000 images submitted by women.
Some included images of women holding photo identification for verification purposes, which Tea’s own privacy policy promises are “deleted immediately” after authentication.
Tea said the breach affected members who signed up before February 2024. It added it had “acted fast” and was “working with some of the most trusted cyber security experts”.
The app has recently experienced a surge in popularity as well as criticism from some who claim it is anti-men. Tea lets women check whether potential partners are married or registered sex offenders as well as run reverse image searches to protect against “catfishing”, where people use fake online identities but one of the most controversial aspects of Tea is that it allows women to share information on men they have dated to “avoid red flags” but also highlight those with “green flag” qualities.
The company said the breached photos “can in no way be linked to posts within Tea”. The firm blocks screenshots so that posts are not shared outside the app but on Friday it also admitted that an additional 59,000 images from the app showing posts, comments and direct messages from over two years ago were accessed.
Tea said; “we’re taking every step to protect this community, now and always.”
The company was set up in November 2022 by Sean Cook, a software engineer who said he was inspired to create Tea after witnessing his mother’s online dating experiences. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
