Aegon NV’s Indian arm is investigating a potential data breach, where customer information was exposed on its website due to a security vulnerability.
According to a report by Reuters, the personal information of up to 10,000 customers of Aegon Life Insurance was affected. These include names, ages, genders, mobile phone numbers, and even more sensitive information such as annual incomes and health policy concerns.
Aegon Life Insurance is a joint venture between Netherlands-based Aegon NV and Indian media company Times Group.
“This incident was not the result of a hack or malicious activity and Aegon Life does not have evidence that customer information was taken," the insurer said in a statement.
“Data security and customer privacy are of utmost importance and we will continue to be transparent with customers as we investigate further.”
In an email sent to customers, Fal Ghancha, chief information security officer of Aegon Life Insurance, said the issue was “rectified immediately upon detection.” The company said it will reach out again to its affected customers to explain what type of data was exposed, and to provide guidance on how to secure their data.
In its website, Aegon Life said that as of January 2017, it had over 440,000 customers in India. It is one of the smaller players in India’s life insurance sector, which is dominated by state-owned LIC.
