Samsung confirmed data breach, customer info exposed

On Aug 2, South Korean chaebol Samsung reported it experienced a data security incident that resulted in the unauthorized access of some customer information.

The second time this year Samsung has reported a breach.

The firm disclosed the incident in a notice:

In late July 2022, an unauthorized third-party acquired information from some of Samsung's U.S. systems. On or around August 4, 2022, we determined through our ongoing investigation that personal information of certain customers was affected.

Samsung said the infiltration enabled hackers to access certain data such as names, contact and demographic information, dates of birth, and product registration details.

It stressed that the incident did not affect users' Social Security numbers or credit and debit card numbers, but noted the information leaked for each relevant customer may vary.

The collected information is necessary to help the company deliver the best experience with its products and services, it added. It's unclear how many customers were affected or who was behind the hack, and why it took almost a month for the company to divulge the breach.

Aside from notifying users about the security event, Samsung stated it has taken steps to secure the impacted systems and engaged an outside cybersecurity firm to lead the response efforts.

Recently, the world's largest distributor of books to libraries worldwide Baker & Taylor confirmed it's still working on restoring systems after being hit by ransomware more than a week ago.