Erie Insurance has successfully restored online account access for its customers, including the ability to make bill payments, as part of its ongoing recovery from the network outage that disrupted services earlier this month. This marks a positive step forward in the insurer’s recovery process, with further work required to bring the remaining systems back online.
According to the company, the outage, which began on June 7, was initiated as a precautionary measure to contain a potential security threat. Erie Insurance emphasized that “there is no evidence of ransomware” and confirmed that there are no signs of ongoing malicious activity. Despite these assurances, the company has not confirmed whether a data breach occurred, but it is continuing to investigate the situation and is working to determine whether any customer data may have been compromised.
The insurer stated that its efforts to restore full system functionality are being carried out in a phased manner, with a focus on key areas like local agents, claims processing, and customer support. This approach ensures that customer service remains a priority while the systems are carefully restored.
While Erie Insurance is making progress, another insurer, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, is also working to recover from its own network outage, which began on June 9 after suspicious activity was detected. This outage has disrupted phone lines, email communication, and online applications, creating challenges for both customers and employees.
Philadelphia Insurance clarified that, contrary to some media reports, its systems were not encrypted and the incident did not involve ransomware. Most of the company’s core business systems have now been restored, and a number of Philadelphia employees have regained access to key tools, such as email. However, the company noted that a complete return to full operational capacity would take time. It reassured agents and policyholders that it is working tirelessly to restore normal operations as soon as possible.
If it is determined that customer data was accessed during the breach, Philadelphia Insurance has committed to notifying the individuals whose information was potentially compromised.
Neither Erie Insurance nor Philadelphia Insurance has provided specific details regarding the source or scale of the cybersecurity incidents that led to these outages. However, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has suggested that the hacker group Scattered Spider may be behind these incidents, pointing out that the group seems to have shifted its focus from retail targets to insurance companies. This group is also believed to be involved in a recent potential data breach at insurer Aflac.
As both insurers continue their recovery efforts, their focus remains on restoring systems to ensure that customers and agents can access services and manage their accounts with minimal disruption.