Georgia Power is notifying approximately 300,000 customers after hackers gained access to personal information through the utility company’s online customer portal.

The company says it recently detected suspicious activity involving the portal and determined that an unauthorized third party had accessed certain information associated with customer accounts.

Information potentially exposed in the breach includes customers’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, basic account information and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

Georgia Power says more sensitive financial information was not exposed. The company says the hackers did not gain access to bank account numbers, payment card numbers or driver’s license numbers.

Georgia Power says it took immediate steps to stop the unauthorized activity after discovering the incident and contacted law enforcement.

The company conducted an investigation and says it has found no evidence of continuing unauthorized access to customer accounts.

Affected customers are being notified directly by Georgia Power through email or U.S. mail.

Georgia Power is also offering free credit monitoring to customers whose information was involved in the breach.

The incident was part of a larger security breach affecting Southern Company utilities. Approximately 400,000 customer accounts were affected overall, including roughly 300,000 Georgia Power customers and additional customers served by Southern Company utilities in Alabama and Mississippi.

Georgia Power serves approximately 2.8 million customers across Georgia.

Customers receiving a data-breach notification should carefully review the notice and follow instructions provided by Georgia Power for enrolling in the free credit-monitoring service.

The breach could also provide an opportunity for scammers to target customers using information obtained during the incident or simply by taking advantage of publicity surrounding the breach.

Georgia Power routinely warns customers to be cautious of callers, emails or text messages claiming to represent the company.

The utility says it will never threaten immediate disconnection or demand payment information over the telephone.

Customers who receive a suspicious communication claiming to be from Georgia Power can contact the company directly at 1-888-660-5890 rather than using telephone numbers or links provided in an unsolicited message.

Customers can also monitor financial accounts and credit reports for unfamiliar activity and should be cautious about unexpected messages requesting passwords, payment information, Social Security numbers or other personal information.

Georgia Power says it is continuing to work with law enforcement following the incident.

Sources:

Georgia Power
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Public Broadcasting