Volkswagen Group Data Breach Affects 3.3 Million Customers’ Information

Between 2019 and 2021, there was a security breach that lasted the full two years, exposing the data of customers of Volkswagen and Audi, between the years of 2014 and 2019. Volkswagen recently confirmed the security breach in a letter to Maine’s Attorney General.

“We recently discovered that an unauthorized third party obtained limited personal information received from or about customers and interested buyers from a vendor that Audi, Volkswagen and some authorized dealers in the United States and Canada use for digital sales and marketing activities,” said a Volkswagen spokesperson in a recent statement.

“We regret any inconvenience this may cause our current or potential customers. As always, we recommend that individuals remain alert for suspicious emails or other communications that might ask them to provide information about themselves or their vehicle.”

The security breach may have affected up to 3.3 million customers, though most of it isn’t too sensitive of information. Most of the data was advertising data, such as names, email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers. However, the highly sensitive data of around 90,000 customers may have been exposed, such as driver’s license numbers and potentially even social security numbers. Volkswagen is taking this incredibly seriously.

“We are notifying all affected individuals directly, regardless of whether we are required to do so by law, and will offer free credit protection services to approximately 90,000 individuals for whom sensitive information was involved,” the VW rep said in the statement.

It seems as if the Volkswagen Group can’t stop getting into public hot water. Back in 2015, there was the diesel scandal, which hasn’t really gone away just yet, and now this. Hopefully, Audi’s efforts to remedy this security breach are effective and customers aren’t too hurt by the breach of their sensitive data. If you’re a customer of VW or Audi between those aforementioned years, expect to be contacted by Volkswagen.

[Source: Roadshow]