When a data leak like this occurs, it can be hard to tell just how severe it is. Without question, it's a troubling occurrence and does not inspire confidence in First American's capabilities to protect customer data. What makes it challenging to fully understand how widespread the effect of this leak is the fact that this information simply sat exposed online. The company is making efforts to remove them, but those documents simply exist online with sensitive information readily available to anyone who finds them. These types of attacks are typically phishing and social engineering schemes used to gain access to a company's network or other sensitive information.

Source: Forbes May 26, 2019 18:00 UTC