Southwood Financial Data Breach Affects Borrowers

Southwood Financial, a private student loan administrator based in Virginia, experienced a data breach. After detecting suspicious activity on March 25, 2025 that disrupted its computer network Southwood initiated an investigation.

On May 29, 2025, Southwood Financial confirmed that the compromised files included personal information belonging to borrowers and possibly employees. The breach was caused by a ransomware attack attributed to the Akira ransomware group, which later claimed responsibility on its dark web site hosted on the Tor network.

The cybersecurity incident exposed personally identifiable information (PII), including name, Social Security number, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address, and other account information.

Southwood Financial began notifying affected individuals on June 27, 2025. The data breach was disclosed to the California Attorney General's office on June 27, 2025 and the Vermont Attorney General’s office on June 30, 2025.

Southwood Financial’s response

Upon discovering the breach, Southwood Financial acted immediately to contain the incident and secure its systems. In addition to state disclosures, Southwood is offering free single bureau credit monitoring services to affected individuals.

If you receive notification from Southwood Financial about this data breach, you may want to:

• Carefully review any notice or communication you receive and sign up for the free Cyberscout credit monitoring services offered.
• Monitor financial accounts and credit reports for signs of identity theft.
• Consider placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with major credit bureaus.
• Be cautious of unsolicited emails or phone calls requesting personal information.

Southwood Financial has established a helpline at 1-833-367-4551, available through September 27, 2025, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.

For more information about the company and its services, visit the Southwood Financial website.