Massive government tech data breach expands to more than 25 million more Americans a year after it was discovered

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Breach extends across multiple states

A data breach warning notification on a laptop
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A data breach from more than a year ago may be far larger than initially disclosed. The giant government technology company Conduent suffered a major ransomware attack in January 2025 that knocked out services across multiple U.S. states for several days.

The HIPAA Journal reported that at least 10 million people were affected by the data breach with the company needing several months to determine how widespread the damage was. This was confirmed in a September 2025 SEC statement.

A Conduent spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company has been working to “conduct a detailed analysis of the affected files to identify the personal information." Reportedly, they would not confirm how many notifications it has sent out of if 100 million people were caught up in the breach.

How to stay safe after a data breach

Man looks upset while reading letter

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

At some point, you are likely to receive a data breach notice from one or more companies you do business with or even ones you indirectly do. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to stay safe after a breach.

As mentioned above, usually companies that are hit by cyberattacks will provide at least a year of credit tracking and sometimes access to an identity theft protection service. Take advantage of those tools if they are offered.

If they don't, you'll want to invest in one of them on your own. Normally, you need to invest in identity theft protection before a breach even happens, but it doesn't hurt to sign up after.

As always, you'll want to be on high alert for phishing attacks and social engineering attacks, especially ones that urge you to "act now." Avoid clicking on any links, QR codes, or attachments from unknown senders.

Consider a password overhaul by coming up with strong, complex passwords for all of your accounts but you can also use one of the best password managers to do so for you instead.

Finally, just in case, make sure you close any old online accounts that aren't in use. The fewer accounts you have, the less likely you'll be hacked or have the sensitive data associated with those accounts exposed online.

This breach seems to be growing, and we'll update this article if any more information surfaces about the Conduent leak.

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Scott Younker
Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. He also handles all the Connections coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game since it released.

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