Stellantis Data Breach Affects Millions of Car Buyers: Report
DETROIT – A data breach at Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Fiat, Chrysler, and Dodge, has perhaps exposed the personal facts of tens of millions of North American customers. The automaker disclosed the unauthorized access to a third-party service platform used for customer service operations on Sunday, July 21, 2024.
While Stellantis confirmed that financial information was not compromised,the breach did involve customer contact information. The company has notified authorities and is directly informing affected individuals, but has not yet specified the exact types of contact details exposed. This incident comes amid a surge in data breaches targeting businesses across multiple sectors, including recent attacks on Hunters, louis Vuitton, and allianz Life, often attributed to the hacking group ShinyHunters.
Stellantis stated, “We are also notifying the appropriate authorities and directly informing affected customers,” in a press release issued on July 21, 2024. The breach highlights the growing vulnerability of companies to cyberattacks, even when utilizing third-party service providers.
The broader trend of data breaches has been fueled by tactics like those employed by ShinyHunters, who reportedly gain access to systems by tricking employees into downloading malicious software disguised as IT support tools. According to the National CIO Review, ShinyHunters claims to have stolen over 1.5 billion Salesforce records from 760 companies to date, demanding ransom payments to prevent data publication. This latest incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and employee training to mitigate the risk of such attacks.
