Ford has addressed allegations of a data breach after a hacker claimed to have leaked 44,000 customer records on a popular hacking forum. The breach was announced on Sunday by a threat actor named ‘EnergyWeaponUser,’ who implicated another hacker, ‘IntelBroker,’ in the November 2024 incident.
The leaked records reportedly contained sensitive customer information, such as full names, physical addresses, purchase details, dealer information, and timestamps. While this data isn’t extremely sensitive, it still includes personally identifiable information that could be used in phishing or social engineering attacks targeting those affected.
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Instead of selling the data, the hackers offered it for free to registered members of the hacking forum, requesting only eight credits, which is about $2. The leak was posted on BreachForums.
The involvement of IntelBroker lent some credibility to the hacker’s claims. This individual has previously been linked to confirmed breaches at major companies, including Cisco’s DevHub portal, Nokia, Europol’s EPE web portal, and T-Mobile through a vendor.
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The leaked data samples showed customer information from various locations worldwide, including the United States. However, Ford later clarified that no breach occurred in its systems. The automaker confirmed that the issue involved a third-party supplier and a small batch of publicly available dealer business addresses.
Ford’s investigation has determined that there was no breach of Ford’s systems or customer data. The matter involved a third-party supplier and a small batch of publicly available dealers’ business addresses. It is our understanding that the matter has now been resolved,” A Ford spokesperson said.
While the situation has been resolved, customers should remain cautious of unsolicited communications and avoid sharing personal information in suspicious circumstances.