Stratfor updates those affected: will be offering free credit monitoring services and will be boosting security

The following was provided to DataBreaches.net by one of the recipients:

From: “STRATFOR”
Date: December 25, 2011 3:49:06 PM MST
To: [redacted]
Subject: Update on Security Issues
Reply-To: “STRATFOR”

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Dear Stratfor Member,

On December 24th an unauthorized party disclosed personally identifiable
information and related credit card data of some of our members. We have
reason to believe that your personal and credit card data could have been
included in the information that was illegally obtained and disclosed.

Also publicly released was a list of our members which the unauthorized
party claimed to be Stratfor’s “private clients.” Contrary to this assertion
the disclosure was merely a list of some of the members that have purchased
our publications and does not comprise a list of individuals or entities
that have a relationship with Stratfor beyond their purchase of our
subscription-based publications.

We have also retained the services of a leading identity theft protection
and monitoring service on behalf of the Stratfor members that have been
impacted by these events. Details regarding the services to be provided will
be forwarded in a subsequent email that is to be delivered to the impacted
members no later than Wednesday, December 28th.

In the interim, precautions that can be taken by you to minimize and prevent
the misuse of information which may have been disclosed include the
following:

– contact your financial institution and inform them of this incident;
– if you see any unauthorized activity on your accounts promptly notify your
financial institution;
– submit a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) by calling
1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877- 438-4338) or online at
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/; and
– contact the three U.S. credit reporting agencies: Equifax
(http://www.equifax.com/ or (800) 685-1111), Experian
(http://www.experian.com/ or (888) 397-3742), and TransUnion
(http://www.transunion.com/ or (800) 888-4213), to obtain a free credit
report from each.

Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your initial credit
reports, the FTC recommends that you check your credit reports periodically.
Checking your credit reports can help you spot problems and address them
quickly.

To ease any concerns you may have about your personal information going
forward, we have also retained an experienced outside consultant that
specializes in such security matters to bolster our existing efforts on
these issues as we work to better serve you. We are on top of the situation
and will continue to be vigilant in our implementation of the latest, and
most comprehensive, data security measures.

We are also working to restore access to our website and continuing to work
closely with law enforcement regarding these matters. We will continue to
update you regarding the status of these matters.

Again, my sincerest apologies for this unfortunate incident.

Sincerely,

George Friedman

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STRATFOR
221 W. 6th Street, Suite 400
Austin, TX 78701 US
www.stratfor.com

For previous coverage on this breach, see this blog post, which I will continue to update.