BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai hacked: Data of thousands of car owners found for sale on hacking forums, after database breach by hackers.
The personal details of around 400,000 UK-based BMW customers are being sold on the “black market”, according to experts from KELA . Customer data from Mercedes, Hyundai and other companies was also exposed .
A hacking group called KelvinSecurity Team has managed to gain access to a BMW customer database and has now put it up for sale on an underground forum used by cybercriminals .
According to a report by SC Magazine, the database includes sensitive data, such as the names of car owners, home addresses and email addresses, as well as dealership names, etc.
According to the report, the hackers claim to have captured the database through a call center that works with multiple car manufacturers.
It is believed that the database includes at least 500,000 records from 2016 to 2018.However, it is not only British people who own BMW, but also owners of Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai and SEAT vehicles.
Kela researchers explained that the hacking group has experience selling compromised data on underground forums. Last month, the hackers sold 16 databases containing information on contractors working for the US government.
KelvinSecurity Team is very active on the dark web
But the group isn't just trying to make money off of stolen data. The hackers exposed 28 databases online, which they stole from victims in countries including the US, Australia, France, Sweden, Indonesia, Iran, and Mexico (according to SC Magazine).
Jake Moore, a security expert at such ESET, warned that hackers information to launch convincing phishing campaigns could use and pose as representatives of BMW or partner organizations.
“I would advise any vehicle owner to be extremely cautious when opening emails claiming to be from BMW and Mercedes,” Moore told Tom’s Guide. “Phishing emails requesting further data can be combined with the stolen data (from the breach) and used in a future attack or identity theft.”
