Shoprite, Africa’s largest chain retailer with over 2,933 stores has confirmed a cyber attack. This it after noticing that customer data in Eswatini, Namibia and Zambia were compromised.
The attack targeted the names and ID numbers of customers. Luckily, no financial information or account numbers were breached.
RansomeHouse posted messages on their Telegram channel claiming that the gang is targeting companies with weak security. So far, it has successfully obtained 600 gigabytes of data from Shoprite.
The telegram message also went further to claim that RansomeHouse collected personal data. These data were “in plain text/raw photos packed in archived files, completely unprotected.”
After the breach, the group had contacted Shoprite’s management for negotiations. They also threatened to sell the data and make some of it public if their negotiations with Shoprite fails.
Shoprite released a statement confirming the attack but had refused to drop comments on if RansomHouse contacted them.
“The Shoprite Group became aware of a suspected data compromise”
How Shoprite Intends to Tackle this Problem
“The Shoprite Group became aware of a suspected data compromise”
“Affected customers will receive an SMS to the cell number supplied at the time of the transaction. An investigation was immediately launched with forensic experts and other data security professionals to establish the origin, nature, and scope of this incident” said Shoprite.
“Additional security measures to protect against further data loss were implemented. we have one this by amending authentication processes, fraud prevention and detection strategies to protect customer data. Access to affected areas of the network has also been locked down. The data compromised included names and ID numbers, but no financial information or bank account numbers” it said.
The group advised that there is a possibility that the impacted customer data may be used by the unauthorised party. They urge customers to therefore take precautionary measures.
These measures include changing passwords regularly, verification of all requests for personal information and non-disclosure of personal information such as passwords and PINs.
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