News and Updates on Information Technology

Volkswagen Group of America

Exploit: Third- Party Data Breach

Volkswagen Group of America: Automotive Manufacturer

cybersecurity news represented by agauge showing severe risk

Risk to Business: 1.825 = Severe

Volkswagen US has announced that it has suffered a data breach impacting millions of US customers and prospective customers. the car company released information saying that a data breach at a vendor has exposed data on more than 3.3 million buyers and prospective buyers in North America. An unauthorized third party obtained limited personal information about customers and interested buyers from a vendor that its Audi Volkswagen brands and some U.S. and Canadian dealers used for digital sales and marketing.

cybersecurity news represented by agauge showing severe risk

Risk to Business: 2.213 = Severe

The information was gathered for sales and marketing between 2014 and 2019 and was in an electronic file the vendor left unsecured. According to Volkswagen, the majority of people impacted had phone numbers and email addresses exposed, but some clients had their driver’s license information stolen as well. In some cases, information about a vehicle purchased, leased, or inquired about was also obtained. VW said 90,000 Audi customers and prospective buyers also had sensitive data impacted relating to purchase or lease eligibility. VW said it will offer free credit protection services to those individuals.

Customers Impacted: 3.3 million

How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Attacks on data processors and other essential service providers have escalated as cybercriminals look for big data scores and information that facilitates more cyber crimes.

Source: Reuters