International insurance giant falls victim to cyber-attack

One of Germany’s major insurance companies — Allianz — has officially announced that the personal data of the majority of customers of its North American branch, “Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America”, has been stolen in a cyber-attack.

In a statement provided by Allianz, it was reported that on July 16, 2025, an unknown cybercriminal illegally gained access to a third-party, cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system used by the company.

“Hackers were able to obtain personally identifiable information of customers, financial consultants, and some employees. This was achieved through a method known as social engineering,” the company said in its statement.

Social engineering is a method of obtaining information based not on technological tools, but on human psychology. Offenders often pose as representatives of trusted organizations or acquaintances and ask users for confidential information.