Over 3.3 million Volkswagen, Audi customers' personal data breached

Compromised data of Volkswagen and Audi customers, in majority cases, included phone numbers and email addresses.In some cases, sensitive data related
...
File phot of Volkswagen logo (REUTERS)
File phot of Volkswagen logo

A data breach at a vendor of the Volkswagen Group affected more than 3.3 million customers and prospective buyers of the Volkswagen and Audi brands in North America. Around 3.1 million customers or interested buyers were affected in the US and approximately 163,000 in Canada.

An unauthorized third party obtained limited personal information about current and potential customers of the brands from the dealer. The third party gathered information for sales and marketing between 2014 and 2019 from an electronic file that was left unsecured at the vendor.

Also check these Vehicles

Find more Cars
Volkswagen Polo 2024 (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
Engine Icon999 cc FuelType IconPetrol
₹ 8 Lakhs
View Details
Volkswagen Tiguan 2025 (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
Engine Icon1984 cc FuelType IconPetrol
₹ 37 Lakhs
View Details
Volkswagen Taigun (HT Auto photo)
Engine Icon1498.0 cc FuelType IconPetrol
₹ 10.49 - 17.50 Lakhs
Compare
View Offers
Volkswagen Virtus (HT Auto photo)
Engine Icon999.0 cc FuelType IconPetrol
₹ 11.21 - 17.91 Lakh
Compare
View Offers
Volkswagen Tiguan (HT Auto photo)
Engine Icon1984.0 cc FuelType IconPetrol
₹ 32.79 Lakhs
Compare
View Offers
Volkswagen Id.7 (HT Auto photo)
UPCOMING
BatteryCapacity Icon77 kWh Range Icon621 Km
₹ 70 Lakhs
View Details

Also Read : Volkswagen offers virtual test drive experience on social media in Covid times

Data in the record for majority of people included phone numbers and email addresses and in some cases, data also included information about a vehicle purchased, leased, or inquired about.

Affected people included about 90,000 Audi customers and prospective buyers whose sensitive data relating to purchase or lease eligibility was impacted. The carmaker said it will offer free credit protection services to those individuals. In cases where sensitive information was compromised, the data included driver license numbers. A small number of records included additional data like dates of birth, Social Security numbers and account numbers.

Also Read : Volkswagen invests €500 million in battery manufacturing company

The Volkswagen Group' dealers that use the Enterprise Lead Management (ELM) program offered through Shift Digital will face the data breach, Auto News reported citing Audi of America president, Daniel Weissland. "The information “does not affect all dealers, but will affect most, if not all," Weissland added.

Volkswagen believes that the data was obtained at some point between August 2019 and May of this year, when the automaker identified the source of the incident. The company also stated that for people affected in Canada, no sensitive information was breached.

(with inputs from Reuters)

First Published Date: 15 Jun 2021, 12:46 PM IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS

Please provide your details to get Personalized Offers on

Choose city
+91 | Choose city
Choose city
Choose city

Want to get the best price for your existing car?

Powered by: Spinny Logo
By clicking "View Offers" you Agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy

Dear Name

Please verify your mobile number.

+91 | Choose city
Couldn't verify the OTP.
It's either expired or it's incorrect.