Dell Technologies has notified its customers about a data breach that has affected approximately 49 million users. A threat actor known as Menelik has claimed responsibility for this incident on BreachForums and has offered to sell the stolen data, which spans from 2017 to 2024. “We are currently investigating an incident involving a Dell portal, which contains a database with limited types of customer information related to Dell purchases,” the company stated in an email.
Details of the Incident
The type of stolen information includes names, physical addresses, and order purchase details. The company has emphasized that the compromised information does not include financial or payment data, emails, phone numbers, or highly confidential customer information.
On April 28, Menelik published the stolen Dell data on BreachForum, which included customer information with non-financial fields such as city, full name, address, province, zip code, warranty plan, company name, Dell order number, Dell customer number, shipping date, and a seven-digit unique service tag from the system.
Possible Uses of the Stolen Information
Dell has indicated that, while the stolen information is not critical from an adversary’s perspective, it could be used by marketing companies and competitors to build profiles or in phishing campaigns. “We do not believe there is a significant risk given the limited information affected,” the company added.
Additional Compromised Data
In his post on BreachForum, the threat actor revealed that the stolen data consists of “around 7 million rows of individual/personal purchase data” and 11 million rows of consumer segment business data. Additionally, the database contains entries from enterprise customers, partners, educational institutions, and other entities. The hacker also specified that the data is for sale to a single buyer for an undisclosed amount.
The cybercriminal hinted that the data may include additional sensitive information. “I do not have email or phone for these 49 million, but I have email and phone for several thousand more customers. All recent,” Menelik added.
Dell’s Response
Dell has reported that it is conducting a thorough investigation of the incident. “Upon identifying the incident, we quickly implemented our incident response procedures, began investigating, took steps to contain the incident, and notified authorities,” the company stated in its email. “We have also engaged an external forensic company to investigate this incident.” Additionally, Dell advises customers to beware of potential tech support phone scams that may attempt to exploit the stolen data.
This security breach highlights the importance of data protection and cybersecurity, even for large technology companies like Dell. Customers expect more details about the breach and the measures that will be taken to prevent future similar incidents.