Brown, Jake & McDaniel Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Personal Information

Brown, Jake & McDaniel, P.C., a Knoxville, Tennessee-based certified public accounting firm, disclosed a data breach involving unauthorized access to its computer network.

The firm has served clients throughout East Tennessee since 1980, providing services in tax planning, tax return preparation, consulting, compilation, financial statement review, audit services, bookkeeping and payroll.

The breach was disclosed to the Massachusetts, South Carolina and Texas attorneys general starting on Sept. 3, 2026, with 1,087 South Carolina residents, 779 Texas residents, 145 Indiana residents, 79 Massachusetts residents and 16 Vermont residents identified as affected. A total of 43,605 individuals were affected.

Brown, Jake & McDaniel became aware of unusual activity impacting its network environment on Jan. 20, 2026, and initiated an investigation into the matter. The firm engaged independent cybersecurity experts to assist with the investigation.

The investigation determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to the firm's computer network between Jan. 13 and Jan. 21, 2026. During that roughly weeklong window, the unauthorized actor potentially downloaded certain files stored on the network.

After the unauthorized access was contained, the firm conducted a comprehensive review of the affected files. The review determined that personal information belonging to certain individuals may have been contained in the files the unauthorized actor accessed or downloaded.

The information exposed included names, Social Security numbers, financial account information and driver's licenses.

Brown, Jake & McDaniel's response to the breach

Brown, Jake & McDaniel is offering complimentary single-bureau credit monitoring, credit report and credit score services by Cyberscout, a TransUnion company.

Affected individuals can enroll in these complimentary services by visiting the Cyberscout activation page and entering the unique enrollment code included in their notification letter. Enrollment must be completed within 90 days of the date of the letter in order to receive the services.