Dell, one of the biggest technology companies in the world has stopped an attack on its Dell.com electronics store after an unknown group of hackers attempted to steal all customer data including their names, home addresses, email addresses and hashed passwords, through their internal network.
On November 9th, Dell detected an disrupted unauthorised activity on its network and it took 6 days for Dell to detect the attempts and stop them. Customers of the Major computer maker were not told about the attack when sending a forced password change to its clients. However, according to the company, the initial investigation did not find any conclusive evidence that the hackers succeeded to extract any information, but as a countermeasure, Dell has decided to force reset passwords of all its accounts across the Dell.com platform.
“Credit card and other sensitive information were not targeted. The incident did not impace any Dell products or services,” Dell said in its press release.
The missing link here that has not been reported is that if you have ever made an account on the Dell.com website to purchase any of their products or to access the online support, you are affected.
“Upon detection of the attemted extraction, Dell immediately implemented countermeasures and initiated and investigation. Dell also retained a digital forensics firm to conduct an independent investigation and has engaged law enforcement,” the company said.
This breach is coming at a terrible time for Dell and the industry as the increased scrutiny from regulators worldwide to provide quick and accurate disclosure of customer data theft. In May The European Union implemented strict new privacy regulations that look to punish violators with fines of up to $23 Million, or otherwise 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher.
Dell has reported the incident to the proper authorities and we will look to update this story as it develops further.
It just goes to show that even the biggest in the industry can get attacked if they don’t have the right systems in place.
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