Data for over 7.5 million
boat customers
is now on the dark web, a
hacker
has claimed. This includes personal information (PII) such as names, addresses, contact numbers, email IDs, and customer IDs. The hacker has reportedly leaked roughly 2GB of data on a forum.
According to a report by Forbes, on April 5, a hacker named ShopifyGUY claimed to have breached the data of audio products and smartwatch maker Boat.
The publication claims that it verified the information by speaking to some of the customers who confirmed purchasing
Boat
products.
Why this data breach is ‘dangerous’
As per experts, such data breaches have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the initial loss of personal information. Exposed personal details make people more susceptible to
financial scams
and criminals can use this information to launch phishing attacks, where they impersonate legitimate institutions to trick victims into revealing passwords or financial details.
Furthermore, data breaches can prove to be a goldmine for identity thieves who can impersonate victims to open new accounts, make unauthorised purchases, or even damage their credit score, says Threat Intelligence Researcher Saumay Srivastava.
“The consequences for companies include a loss of customer confidence, legal consequences and reputational harm. The major implications make it even more essential to implement adequate security practices,” Srivastava was quoted as saying.
According to another expert, the hacker is assumed to have gained access to the customer database at least one month ago and put the data on the forum yesterday.
Yash Kadakia, founder of Security Brigade, says that the company should ideally notify all users, perform an in-depth investigation on how the attackers got in and what else they may have accessed, and revamp their security measures for future.
“The data is available for eight credits on some forums, so literally, it costs two euros to buy the data. It'll probably be available for free in a few days on Telegram. This data will be used by a lot of scammers for different phone and email scams,” Kadakia was quoted as saying.
The company was founded in 2016 by Shark Tank judge Aman Gupta, and Sameer Mehta. It became the second most popular wearable brand in the third quarter of 2023, as per an IDC.
English (US) ·