BREAKING NEWS: Carriers notified of hacker data breach of TQL’s IT systems

TQL President Kerry Byrne notified carriers of a data breach of its IT systems on Thursday. Image: TQL

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Read FreightWaves’ update regarding the TQL data breach here.

Carriers were notified around 11 a.m. on Thursday that external hackers had breached Total Quality Logistics (TQL) IT systems and may have gained access to customers’ business information.

According to an email sent out to carriers by Kerry Bryne, president of TQL, hackers may have gained access to carriers’ “tax ID number, bank account numbers and invoice information, including amounts and dates.”

“One of our highest priorities has been and continues to be the security of your information,” Bryne said in the email.

TQL has set up several ways for carriers to find out more information about the data breach and are urged to visit www.tql.com/carrierhotline or call its dedicated hotline at 800-822-5980.

In Byrne’s email, the company initially confirmed a data breach of its IT systems which compromised the security of its online portals for carriers on Feb. 23.

“We are still gathering details, but it appears it was initially an information/data phishing attempt,” according to Byrne’s email. “Our IT security teams identified the issue quickly and countered immediately to secure all online information. We’re confident any access the hackers had to TQL’s systems has since been blocked.”

According to TQL’s website, it works with a network of more than 85,000 carriers and moves more than 1.8 million loads of freight each year. TQL is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“We have taken immediate steps to close security gaps in our systems,” Bryne said in the email to carriers about the data breach. 

This is a developing story

Read more articles by FreightWaves’ Clarissa Hawes

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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.