MalwareProfessional ServicesProfessional ServicesRansomwareData EncryptedRansom DemandedRansom PaidCustomer Data InvolvedIdentity (basic)Government IDFinancial accountEmploymentMediumResolved

Williams Adams & Company

bd_cbb40233355452a1 · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

Medium

Discovered

Jul 28, 2022

Filed

Sep 8, 2022

To disclose

6 weeks

Affected

Not disclosed

Confidence

65%

Full breach record for Williams Adams & Company →

Williams Adams & Company, a CPA firm, experienced a ransomware attack on July 28, 2022, where network servers were encrypted by an unauthorized user. The firm paid a ransom to decrypt the network on August 9, 2022. Personal information potentially accessed includes names, SSNs, employment data, and bank account details. The firm engaged forensic consultants, implemented security enhancements including MFA, and offered credit monitoring to affected clients.

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Incident timeline

discovery → filing · 6 weeks / 42 days

Jul 28, 2022

Begins

Jul 28, 2022

Discovered

Sep 8, 2022

Filed

vs. sector median

12 wks faster

Tracked as a single-filing incident — the only disclosure on record for this event so far.ConfirmedView incident

Name: Williams Adams & Company
norm: williams adams
Domain: williamsadams.com

Name: Williams Adams & Company
norm: williams adams
Domain: williamsadams.com
Industry: Professional Servicesllm

Discovered: Jul 28, 2022
Breach occurred: Jul 28, 2022
Undetected for: 0 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: —
Affected individuals: Not disclosed
Data types: Identity (basic)Government IDFinancial accountEmployment
Attack vector: Ransomware
MITRE ATT&CK: T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact
Threat actor: ExternalFinancial
Regulator citations: Working with the IRS and FTBIRS is monitoring the firm’s tax client filings to reject any returns filed fraudulently

During the incident: Engaged a forensic IT consultant to decrypt the network and/or restore it using backup drives
Negotiated with and paid the threat actor to recover the data on the network
Implemented immediate enhancements to systems, security, and practices to prevent unauthorized access
Changed all passwords
Implemented two-step authentication for online system access
Engaged experts to conduct a full review of security practices and systems
Working with the IRS and FTB
Changed EFIN
Providing access to Single Bureau Credit Monitoring services at no charge through Cyberscout through Identity Force
Changes made: Implemented immediate enhancements to systems, security, and practices to prevent unauthorized access
Changed all passwords
Implemented two-step authentication for online system access
Engaged experts to conduct a full review of security practices and systems to ensure appropriate security protocols, including network firewalls, are in place and properly functioning
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 6 weeks(42 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: — (clock not assessable for this source)

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

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://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-557036
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Sep 8, 2022
Raw hash: 1ef7259a5d491ca32748a0f8d7161c59952f65702b35f183c8162a684b2a8bea

Reporting entityWilliams Adams & Company

Victim entityWilliams Adams & Company

Incidentdiscovered Jul 28, 2022

Stated responseEngaged a forensic IT consultant to decrypt the network and/or restore it using backup drives

Complianceclock not assessable

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenanceoag.ca.gov