[As reported by CyberNews, debt relief company Set Forth recently suffered a data breach in which hackers gained access to internal documents stored on its systems. The company itself provides administrative services to Americans enrolled in debt relief programs, but also works with business-to-business partners such as Centrex.

Affected customers are now being sent data breach notices following this cyber attack. Here is everything you need to know about the type of data accessed in this attack and what you need to know about what you can do next if your information is compromised online as a result.

In a data breach notice sent to the Maine Attorney General's Office, Set Forth revealed that 1.5 million Americans have been affected by this breach.

The attack itself occurred in May of this year, at which point the company implemented an incident response protocol and worked with independent computer forensics experts as part of its investigation of the incident.

According to Set Forth, the affected individuals' full names, Social Security numbers (SSN), and dates of birth may have been obtained by the hackers behind the attack after they accessed documents stored on its systems. Worse yet, the personal information of “spouses, co-applicants, and dependents” may also have been accessed during the attack.

At this time, there is no indication that this information was used by hackers in the attack. Nevertheless, all of this personal information could be sold on the dark web or even used in targeted phishing attacks in the future.

Fortunately, Set Forth is offering those affected by this latest data breach a year of free top-notch identity theft protection services through Cyberscout. While we have not reviewed this particular service, it has been in existence for over 20 years, has 1.5 million commercial subscriptions, and has responded to over 1 million breaches.

After a data breach like this one, you want to pay close attention to your mailbox. This is because data breach notification letters, like the sample linked above, are usually delivered by traditional mail, not email.

In the event of a personal or financial data breach, the letter will contain a code to sign up for Cyberscout's identity theft protection.

Once this is done, all financial accounts will be closely monitored for signs of fraud. With your SSN in hand, hackers can apply for loans in your name, apply for jobs, and even commit crimes for which you could be held liable. This is one of the reasons identity theft is so frightening and difficult to recover from.

Similarly, be very careful when checking your inbox, messages, and social media, as hackers can use stolen information or the data breach itself as a lure to hand over more information or financial details. Be on the lookout for emails from unknown senders or emails with blank subject lines. If an email looks suspicious or creates a sense of urgency, do not reply, click on the link, or download the attachment. Delete it.

We may learn more about how this data breach unfolded at a later date, but at least Set Forth is offering a year of free identity theft protection, something many companies that have suffered similar attacks often do not offer.