Acer, the Taiwan-based computer maker, has disclosed that personal data of several customers was stolen in an “isolated attack” on its local after-sales service system in India.
Photo credit: Acer
Recently, a hacker group that goes by the name of Desorden Group said on a forum that it had stolen over 60GB of files and database from Acer’s India servers, including corporate accounts and financial data of millions of consumers.
Desorden has also released private data of over 10,000 individuals for free, as a sample of a larger database. However, it is unclear how the hackers have gained access to the allegedly stolen data.
The breach appears to have taken place on October 5, according to a report by Privacy Affairs, a blog about cybersecurity and data privacy.
“The incident has been reported to local law enforcement and the Indian computer emergency response team, and has no material impact to our operations and business continuity,” Acer said in a statement to Tech in Asia.
Acer said it has triggered its security protocols and has conducted a full scan of its systems. It is also notifying all potentially affected customers in India about the data breach.
See also: The stunning rise of India’s ethical hacking industry
This is the second attack on Acer this year after a group using REvil ransomware demanded US$50 million from the Taiwanese computer manufacturer. Desorden has carried out several hacks in the past.
On September 23, Desorden stole over 200GB of files and databases from ABX Express Enterprise servers in Malaysia, along with the personal data of millions of customers from ecommerce companies including Shopee and Lazada.
In both instances, the hacker group had uploaded a sample of the files as evidence of its claims.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Arpit Nayak
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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