Gulshan Management Services data breach exposes SSNs and card data for 377,082 people

Opening: Debt Collector Breach Exposes Sensitive Financial Data

Gulshan Management Services, a New York-based accounts receivable and debt collection company, has confirmed a significant data breach affecting 377,082 individuals across the United States. The breach, discovered on December 4, 2024, exposed highly sensitive personal and financial information including Social Security numbers and payment card data.

The company filed official breach notifications with attorneys general in Maine, Massachusetts, Texas, and Vermont on January 9, 2026, revealing the full scope of the incident more than a year after its initial discovery.

What Happened: The Technical Breakdown

According to the breach notification filed with the Maine Attorney General, Gulshan Management Services detected suspicious activity in its computer network on December 4, 2024. The company immediately initiated an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity specialists.

The investigation determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to the company's systems and acquired files containing sensitive consumer information. The exact method of intrusion has not been disclosed, though the company confirmed that no evidence of misuse of the compromised data has been identified to date.

The incident was reported to the FBI as part of standard breach response protocols.

Data Exposed: The Full Scope

The breach compromised a wide range of personally identifiable information (PII) and financial data:

• Full names
• Social Security numbers (SSNs)
• Driver's license numbers
• State identification numbers
• Financial account information
• Payment card numbers with security codes (CVVs)
• Medical information
• Health insurance details

The combination of SSNs, payment card data with CVVs, and medical information creates a particularly dangerous dataset for potential identity theft, financial fraud, and medical identity theft. Unlike standalone credential breaches, this type of exposure enables attackers to impersonate victims across financial, medical, and government systems simultaneously.

Attack Chain Analysis

While Gulshan has not disclosed the specific attack vector, the nature of the breach—network intrusion leading to file exfiltration—suggests several possible scenarios:

• Phishing campaign targeting employees with access to sensitive databases
• Exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities in network infrastructure
• Compromised credentials obtained through credential stuffing or previous breaches
• Supply chain compromise through a third-party vendor

The 14-month delay between breach discovery and public notification raises questions about the complexity of the investigation or potential regulatory considerations. While technically within the legal notification windows of most states, extended timelines reduce the window for affected individuals to take protective action before their data can be monetized.

Response and Remediation Steps

Gulshan Management Services has implemented several measures in response to the breach:

Immediate Actions

• Engaged third-party cybersecurity firm for forensic investigation
• Reported incident to FBI
• Secured affected systems and networks
• Filed breach notifications with multiple state attorneys general

Affected Individual Support

• Identity theft protection services
• Dedicated call center: 1-833-918-3853 (Monday-Friday, 8 AM - 8 PM ET)
• Written notification letters sent to all affected individuals

For affected individuals, the recommended immediate actions include:

1. Enroll in the free credit monitoring service
2. Place fraud alerts on credit files with all three major bureaus
3. Consider a credit freeze if not actively seeking new credit
4. Monitor financial statements and explanation of benefits (EOB) documents for unauthorized activity
5. Be alert for phishing attempts that reference the breach or Gulshan by name

Lessons for Organizations

This breach highlights several critical security considerations for organizations handling sensitive financial data:

Data Minimization

Debt collection agencies often maintain extensive consumer records. Implementing data retention policies that limit the storage of sensitive information can reduce breach impact. Organizations should regularly audit what data they hold and delete records that are no longer required for business or regulatory purposes.

Network Segmentation

Separating databases containing SSNs, payment cards, and medical information from general network access can limit the scope of potential breaches. Zero-trust architecture principles should be applied to internal data flows, not just perimeter defenses.

Encryption at Rest

Ensuring all sensitive data is encrypted at rest renders exfiltrated files useless without decryption keys. Modern key management practices should separate key storage from encrypted data storage.

Timely Disclosure

Closing

The Gulshan Management Services breach is a reminder that organizations handling sensitive financial data remain high-value targets regardless of their public profile. Debt collection agencies in particular aggregate exactly the type of comprehensive PII that enables sophisticated identity fraud. For security teams, this incident reinforces the importance of data minimization, network segmentation, and encryption at rest—controls that limit blast radius when perimeter defenses fail. For affected individuals, the most effective response is immediate enrollment in credit monitoring, fraud alerts, and sustained vigilance for the phishing and social engineering campaigns that typically follow breaches of this nature.