Kovack Financial data breach: network files accessed in August 2025, clients told a year later

What happened at Kovack Financial?

Kovack became aware of suspicious activity on its computer network on or around August 28, 2025. It secured the network and investigated. The investigation found that the intruder had been in the files for about three weeks before that. Kovack then reviewed the files to find out what they held and whom it concerned. On July 16, 2026 it determined that each recipient's information was in them. The letter does not say how the actor got in, whether files were copied out, or whether there was a ransom demand.

California's record gives August 8 and August 27, 2025 as the breach dates. The copy filed there is titled for Kovack Securities Inc., while the letter itself is from Kovack Financial, LLC.

Date	What happened	Source
August 8 to 27, 2025	Unknown actor has access to files on the network	Notice letter, California AG record
About August 28, 2025	Kovack notices suspicious activity	Notice letter
July 16, 2026	File review identifies the people involved	Notice letter
August 10, 2026	Letter date; notice sent, per Indiana; reported to Washington	Notice letter, Indiana and Washington records
August 14, 2026	Published by Texas	Texas AG list
November 8, 2026	Ninety days after the letter date: last day to enrol in monitoring	Notice letter

Why did it take almost a year to notify?

The file review took most of it. From discovery to the letters was 347 days. Of those, the review that identified people ran until July 16, 2026, and the letters followed 25 days after it. The letter gives no other reason. The guide to how long organizations take to notify sets that gap against other letters in this log, and the state breach notification laws guide gives each state's deadline.

What information was in the Kovack files?

The filed letter leaves each person's list blank, and the state records fill it in:

• Washington lists name, Social Security number, driver's licence or Washington ID number, financial and banking information, passport number and medical information.
• Texas lists name, Social Security number, driver's licence number, government-issued ID and financial information.

The letter asks readers to check explanation-of-benefits statements as well as account statements, in line with Washington's medical information entry. Kovack says there is no sign so far of identity theft or fraud tied to the event.

How many people were affected by the Kovack breach?

Indiana gives the only total: 109,506 people. Three states count their own residents, and the letter adds Rhode Island:

Record	People counted
Indiana attorney general, total	109,506
Texas residents	3,301
Indiana residents	1,451
Washington residents	657
Rhode Island residents (letter)	about 84

The letter says approximately 84 Rhode Island residents may be affected. Texas published its report on August 14, 2026, with notice by U.S. mail. The guide to bank, brokerage and mortgage breach notices compares what other financial firms have told clients.

Has Kovack had a breach before?

California's list has an earlier filing under the name Kovack Financial, with a breach date of August 15, 2023, reported on July 9, 2024. That is a separate incident. This log has no entry for it.

What is Kovack offering?

Twelve months of credit monitoring and identity restoration at no cost, through Cyberscout, a TransUnion company. Enrolment was at bfs.cyberscout.com/activate with the code in the letter, within 90 days of the letter's date. For letters dated August 10, 2026, that was November 8, 2026, so the window has closed. Kovack also says it reported the event to the appropriate government agencies. The guide to credit-monitoring offers compares this offer with others.

Was my information in the Kovack Financial data breach?

A letter from Kovack Financial, LLC dated August 10, 2026, sent "c/o Cyberscout" from Suwanee, Georgia, means your information was in the accessed files. Kovack's line is 833-954-3690, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding major holidays. Written questions go to 6451 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308.

What the notice leaves open

• How the actor got into the network, and whether files were taken.
• Who the 109,506 people are, and why medical information was in the files.
• What each person lost; the sample leaves the list blank.
• How the August 2025 event relates, if at all, to the 2023 filing.