Cybercriminals have stolen personal information on most of Allianz Life’s 1.4 million customers in North America.

Hackers gained access to a third-party cloud-based system, a spokesman for the insurer in the US told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“The threat actor was able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life’s customers, financial professionals and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique,” he said.

Allianz has notified the FBI and acted to contain the breach.  

“We began the process of reaching out to individuals impacted, with dedicated resources to assist them,” the spokesman said.

“Based on our investigation to date, there is no evidence the Allianz Life network or other company systems were accessed, including our policy administration system.”