Data breach sees millions of Acer customers' data being sold by hackers

(Image credit: AFP)

Data for millions of Acer's clients and customers is currently being held after the computing company was subject to yet another data breach. Over 60GB of client, customer, and retailers' information now lies in the hands of hackers, who are currently seeking buyers to sell the data on to.

The breach mostly affects customers in India, where the targeted servers reside, and is the second attack Acer has had the misfortune to encounter in the past seven months—a previous incident in March, claimed by the REvil hacker group, involved a record $50 million ransom.

This time, the infiltration has been attributed to antagonist group Desorden, after it was seen bragging in an online forum. The group even included a video showcasing the stolen files and databases, and released a sample 10,000 customers' data for free, as proof.

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"We have recently detected an isolated attack on our local after-sales service system in India." Acer told BleepingComputer. "Upon detection, we immediately initiated our security protocols and conducted a full scan of our systems. We are notifying all potentially affected customers in India."

We believe Acer refused to pay up last time a breach like this occurred, which is probably why the attackers have gone with selling the data on, rather than trying to get Acer to comply with demands.

Either way, while it looks like Acer is taking steps in the right direction after the attack, it's unlikely the company will be getting the stolen data back.

Having been obsessed with game mechanics, computers and graphics for three decades, Katie took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni and has been writing about digital games, tabletop games and gaming technology for over five years since. She can be found facilitating board game design workshops and optimising everything in her path.