THE CYBER ATTACK ON SAMSUNG RESULTED IN A DATA BREACH OF US CUSTOMERS

Introduction:

On September 5th, 2022, South Korean chaebol Samsung announced a cybersecurity breach that resulted in unauthorized access to some of its customer’s information, the second such breach this year. “An unauthorized third party obtained information from several of Samsung’s US systems in late July 2022,” the company claimed. The South Korean conglomerate stated that it had taken steps to safeguard vulnerable systems, including hiring a prominent outside cybersecurity firm and collaborating with law enforcement.

Attack process:

Samsung confessed that an unauthorized entity obtained information from some of its US systems, compromising the privacy of its consumers. The company stated in a blog post that it suspects that the personal information of its clients, including names, contact information, demographic data, date of birth, and product registration information, may be compromised.

According to Samsung, an unapproved third party accessed customer data housed in some of Samsung’s US systems in July. As a result of their ongoing investigation, they learned that its customers’ data was compromised around August 4. In announcing the data breach, Samsung stated that it has already alerted some individuals who they believe have had their data compromised. It also said that if more investigation is required, it will contact the impacted users personally.

Impact:

According to the continuing investigation, the company believes that customers do not need to take any urgent action. This incident did not affect consumer devices, but the corporation has recommended several precautions to be safe. As per Samsung, the data leak did not affect social security numbers, credit card information, or debit card numbers. However, in some situations, information such as name, contact and demographic information, date of birth, and product registration information may have been compromised. Each relevant customer’s information may be affected differently. It also stated that they alert customers to make them aware of the situation.

Remediation:

To safeguard vulnerable systems, Samsung announced that it enlisted the assistance of a law enforcement agency and a top cybersecurity firm. This incident did not affect consumer devices, but the corporation has recommended several precautions to be safe.

Precautions:

  • Be aware of unsolicited communications that ask for personal information or refer you to a website that does.
  • Avoid clicking on links or downloading files from fake emails.
  • Examine your accounts for unusual activity.