Mazda website hacked, ‘no evidence yet’ customer data compromised

SINGAPORE — Hackers breached motor dealer Eurokars Group’s Mazda website this morning (July 23) but there are no signs so far to suggest information of customers has been compromised.

Eurokars Group said the website, www.mazda.com.sg, has been restored and a police report has also been made. “Investigations are currently underway and there is no evidence at this point to suggest that any customer information was compromised,” it said in a press release today.

A Turkish-based group called Ayyildiz Tim reportedly hacked into the website around 9am today and placed its logo and a message on the site. The website allows customers to book a Mazda test drive, which requires them to provide information including names, addresses, mobile numbers and email addresses.

Contacted today, the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) under the Cyber Security Agency said it is aware of the incident and is monitoring the situation. It advised organisations and individuals to take extra caution with their cyber security.

The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) said it will investigate the matter if there is reason to believe that the personal data of individuals has been compromised.

An IT security expert said the hackers may not have specifically targeted the Mazda website in Singapore. “While it is possible that the specific website was targeted, it is much more common that the attackers are not too concerned about the target — they look for vulnerable websites and weak remote access points and exploit them,” said Mr Andrey Dulkin, senior director of Cyber Innovation at CyberArk Software.

Defacements occasionally involve stolen website management credentials, but the vast majority of cases occur when hackers take advantage of an unpatched or vulnerable website or Web server components.

“Most likely this is what happened in this case,” he said.

The Eurokars Group said it takes cyber security and threats to its IT infrastructure very seriously.