HackingFinancial ServicesFinanceStolen CredentialsCustomer Data InvolvedIdentity (basic)Government IDMediumContained

HIGHTOWER HOLDING, LLC

bd_11c694a16108e78e · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

Medium

Discovered

Jan 9, 2026

Filed

Mar 23, 2026

To disclose

10 weeks

Affected

225state residents only

Linked

9 filings

Confidence

67%

Full breach record for HIGHTOWER HOLDING, LLC →

Hightower Holding, LLC notified Vermont AG of a data event affecting 225 Vermont residents. Unauthorized access occurred Jan 8-9, 2026, via compromised user credentials, resulting in unauthorized download of files containing names and Social Security Numbers. The company engaged forensic specialists, notified law enforcement, and provided 12 months of credit monitoring to affected individuals.

J jump to incidentP pin to compareR raw source

Vermont clock✗ VT AG >45 bday10 weeks discovery → filing

⚠ unattributedNo provenance was recorded for this discovery date and it matches no other date on the record. It may be correct, but it is not independently grounded.

Incident timeline

undetected · 1 days

discovery → filing · 10 weeks / 73 days

Jan 8, 2026

Begins

Jan 9, 2026

Discovered

Mar 23, 2026

Filed

vs. sector median

+2 wks slower

This filing is one of 9 about the same incident.View merged incident

Linked disclosures

Why this link?

Regulatory filings (8) · sorted by filing gap

Washington State AGbd_618ac39ae73afd622026-03-23Candidate
New Hampshire State AGbd_63d000b1f7a591922026-03-23Verified
Indiana State AGbd_79f3f287285213732026-03-23Verified
Maine State AGbd_88f8377542b021452026-03-23Verified

Show 4 more filings ↓up to 22d gap

Maine State AGbd_9ab4cb833accec1b2026-03-24 · +1dVerified
Massachusetts State AGbd_cc7ac8b88135f6ba2026-03-24 · +1dVerified
Texas State AGbd_6ed226a1f4fa64d62026-03-25 · +2dVerified
Illinois State AGbd_b618d47c063c96c42026-03-01 · +22dVerified

Name: Mullen Coughlin LLC
norm: mullen coughlin

Name: HIGHTOWER HOLDING, LLC
norm: hightower holding
Domain: hightoweradvisors.com
Industry: Financial Servicesllm

Discovered: Jan 9, 2026
Breach occurred: Jan 8, 2026 – Jan 9, 2026
Undetected for: 1 dayoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: Mar 23, 2026
Affected individuals: 225state-resident count only
Data types: Identity (basic)Government ID
Attack vector: Unauthorized Access
MITRE ATT&CK: T1078 Valid Accounts
Threat actor: External
Regulator citations: Notified Office of the Vermont Attorney GeneralNotified three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
Initial access: valid_credentials

During the incident: Promptly took steps to secure its network
Initiated a comprehensive investigation to determine the full nature and scope of the event with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity and digital forensic specialists
Engaged third-party data review specialists to conduct a time-intensive and thorough review of the files
Notified federal law enforcement regarding the event
Provided access to credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for twelve (12) months from the date of enrollment through TransUnion to the two hundred twenty-five (225) Vermont residents, at no cost to these individuals
Providing impacted individuals with guidance on how to better protect against identity theft and fraud
Providing written notice of this incident to relevant state regulators, as required, and to the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
Changes made: Undertook additional measures to further strengthen its cybersecurity posture even with respect to credentialed users
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 10 weeks(73 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: VT AG >45 bday
Discovery-date grounding: unattributedNo provenance was recorded for this discovery date and it matches no other date on the record. It may be correct, but it is not independently grounded.

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Filing propagation · 9 filings · 8 states

View merged incident ↗

Illinois State AGMar 1 · first

Washington State AG+22d

New Hampshire State AG+22d

Indiana State AG+22d

Maine State AG+22d

Vermont State AG+22d · this page

Maine State AG+23d

Massachusetts State AG+23d

Texas State AG+24d

Pattern: first filing Mar 1 (IL), last Mar 25 (TX) — a 24-day rolling notification. Rolling spreads often mean counsel is filing as thresholds trip per state. Why this link?

Evidence ladder

Leak-site claim

Attacker assertion only. Establishes: claim date, group, alleged victim.

Press / market report

Unlocks: incident narrative, operational impact. Still no compliance clock.

State AG / regulator filingThis record

Unlocks: discovery date, data types, affected count, compliance clock.

SEC 8-K / victim statement

Unlocks: materiality, stated response, full audit trail. Ceiling removed.

Source URL: https://ago.vermont.gov/document/2026-03-23-hightower-holdings-llc-data-breach-notice-consumers
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Mar 23, 2026
Raw hash: 329f5c9af5877238f8531be4136897010184c9dbb35a2423efb71686620ab08d

Linked disclosures

Regulatory filings (8) · sorted by filing gap

Reporting entityMullen Coughlin LLC

Victim entityHIGHTOWER HOLDING, LLC

Incidentdiscovered Jan 9, 2026

Stated responsePromptly took steps to secure its network

ComplianceVT AG >45 bday

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenanceago.vermont.gov