In July, cyber burglars got their hands on confidential customer data from Samsung in the US. The company is now writing to those affected by email.
The electronics group Samsung is currently sending e-mails to a number of its customers in the USA warning them of the consequences of a data leak in July. In an almost identically formulated support document for the incident on Friday, the group describes the incident – albeit very vaguely. According to this, unknown persons gained unauthorized access to customer data stored on several Samsung US systems. Personal data of customers is affected, but not social security numbers and no credit or debit card numbers, Samsung writes.
Reveal a few details
Samsung’s explanation of the incident is covered with details and does not name a number of those affected: At the end of July, unauthorized third parties had access to confidential customer data, and “around August 4th” the company determined which data and customers were affected. The systems have been secured, Samsung is working with a “leading” external company for IT security and is in contact with the law enforcement authorities.
According to Samsung, the copied customer data includes name, date of birth, contact (which obviously includes email address, possibly also address), product registration information and demographic information (which could include gender, language or marital status – if Samsung collects these details). Has). The data affected could vary for each customer, which is why Samsung informs customers which of their data has been spied on.
Warning of increased phishing attempts
In an FAQ section below the notification, Samsung also states that the devices of affected customers are not at risk and that no immediate steps are required in response to the data leak. However, customers should check their account for suspicious activity; Samsung does not recommend changing your password. In addition, those affected should be particularly wary of phishing emails that contain links or ask for personal information – which can be taken as an indication that email addresses of customers were copied in the leak.
At Samsung, cyber burglars were able to get their hands on the source code in March of this year. This also included code from Samsung’s online services such as the activation servers and account management.
