Sophos has reminded companies of the dangers of hackers breaking
into their corporate systems, following the latest announcement
from a firm that it has been the victim of a data breach.
US motoring parts retailer, Advance Auto Parts, has announced on
its website that hackers have gained access to the financial
information of 56,000 of its customers, through an attack which
affected 14 of its stores worldwide.
Details of how the information was stolen have not been made
public, and the identities of the hackers are currently unknown.
Advance Auto Parts says it is working with the authorities to
assist in the investigation.
According to the company, the affected stores are based in
Atlanta (Georgia), College Park (Georgia), Columbus (Ohio),
Covington (Louisiana), Canal Fulton (Ohio), Garden City (Georgia),
Gretna (Louisiana), Mansfield (Ohio), Memphis (Tennessee), Natchez
(Mississippi), Norcross (Georgia), Paoli (Indiana), Richmond
(Virginia), and Syracuse (New York).
Advance Auto Parts has published an advisory to
affected customers.
News of Advance Auto Parts' data breach has followed in the
footsteps of other higher profile incidents such as the loss by
Hannafords supermarket chain of 4.2 million credit card
details, and last year's announcement by TJ Maxx that hackers had
stolen
information on 45 million credit card transactions.
"Advance Auto Parts joins a growing list of companies who have
suffered from an embarrassing data breach, and this news may rattle
the confidence of customers," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "All firms would be wise to look
long and hard at their own security to make sure that they are
doing everything possible to reduce the chances that they will be
the next to fall victim."
Advance Auto Parts has published an advisory on its website, and
set up a hotline for potentially affected customers to call:
1-800-704-1154.
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this attack on our
network may cause. Advance Auto Parts has been dedicated for the
past 75 years to earning customer trust and for providing legendary
customer service," said Darren Jackson, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Advance Auto Parts in a statement published on
the retailer's website. "We strive to serve each and every customer
better than anyone else."
Credit and debit card customers who might be affected by the
data breach are advised by Sophos to take the following steps:
- Carefully review the statements for their debit and credit
cards for unauthorized transactions. Open your statements promptly,
and compare your receipts to your billing statements.
- If you detect any unauthorized or suspicious use of your card,
contact your credit card issuer or issuing bank immediately. By
law, you will have no liability for unauthorized use if your credit
card number, but not the card itself, has been stolen.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.