Samsung was again the victim of a cyberattack this summer. The hackers managed to steal the data of some customers. However, the company wants to be reassuring: no vital data seems to have been compromised.
Cyberattacks follow one another and look alike. While large companies are regularly victims of hackers, and it’s Samsung’s turn to be – again – in turmoil. The firm revealed last Friday that she had been the victim of an intrusion at the end of July. In particular, the hackers were able to access the data of certain customers. The Korean firm explains that “On or around August 4, 2022, we determined, as part of our ongoing investigation, that certain customers’ personal information was impacted.”
Although Samsung did not reveal the amount of customer data that was affected, the company wanted to be reassuring by specifying that the most sensitive information, such as social security and banking data, are not victimized by this intrusion. Only users in the United States are affected and will be contacted directly by email “if we determine during our investigation that the incident requires further notification, we will contact you accordingly,” explains Samsun in its FAQ.
Samsung: an increased risk of phishing campaigns
Apparently only customer names, birth dates, contact details, demographic information and product registration data. Although it’s not the most sensitive data, it can be used in clever ways for phishing campaigns, and even spear-phishing – for example, by contacting a customer posing as Samsung and talking of a product that the victim actually owns. That’s why it’s essential to keep tabs on account activity to make sure there’s nothing out of the ordinary, and to be extra vigilant about emails or text messages that contain a link inviting you to click on it. It is also better to activate the two-factor identification – also called multi-factor authentication – which limits the risks.
Samsung has announced that it has taken the necessary measures to secure the systems concerned and has called on an external cybersecurity company, while coordinating its actions with law enforcement. This is not the first time that the company has been the victim of a cyberattack. Already in March 2022, 190 GB of archives were stolen, including the source code relating to its Galaxy smartphones.