Acer clients who purchased devices from the Taiwanese company may be victims of stolen information, as the company claims that it was hacked. Engadget reports that a third party obtained the "name, address, card number, expiration date and three-digit security codes" of those who input their information in the online store between May 12, 2015 and April 28, 2016. About 34,500 clients from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are affected by the security breach.
According to PC World, the year-long security breach happened through Acer's online store, where hackers stole sensitive customer data. Acer has informed California’s Attorney General about the breach. On the upside, Acer admits they do not collect Social Security numbers, and that there is no evidence of malicious activity involving the stolen information with regards to password and login credentials.
"Safeguarding your personal information is important to us. We took immediate steps to remediate this security issue upon identifying it, and we are being assisted by outside cybersecurity experts," Acer's Vice President or Customer Service Mark Groveunder wrote in a letter to the attorney general of California.
Acer encourages their clients to review their statements of account and credit card billing information before making any payments, and to come forward to the authorities in any case they find themselves a victim of identity theft.
Chief research intelligence analyst Stephen Gates of security firm NSFOCUS pointed out to IT Pro that the hack enabled a third party to access information for as long as nearly a year, which implied that the hacker's presence went undetected for quite some time. He also pointed out that Acer should have not kept all that vital information for too long.
"The recommended practice would be to delete that information, once a transaction is complete. When you have all three (credit card number, expiration data, and CVV) you basically have the keys to the kingdom, so to speak," Gates said. Acer is hoping to resolve the issue as soon as possible and promises to enhance their security moving forward.
