Summary:
What was described as a "smash and grab" attack has impacted the automotive giant Nissan North America (NNA). On May 15, 2024, NNA disclosed a ransomware breach, revealing the compromise of personal information, including Social Security numbers, of both current and former employees, affecting 53,038 individuals. The breach occurred on November 7, 2023, with formal discovery happening on February 28, 2024. Though no data was encrypted, the attackers accessed NNA's local and network shares.

Security Officer Comments:
In response, NNA implemented security measures such as a companywide password reset and Carbon Black monitoring. The lack of ransomware identification highlights the challenge of tracing cyberattacks and the evolving strategies of threat actors targeting organizations for financial gain or other malicious motives. The attackers likely gained unauthorized access to NNA's network through common tactics such as phishing emails, exploiting software vulnerabilities, or leveraging weak or stolen credentials. .

Suggested Corrections:
Organizations may want to consider encrypting sensitive information such as employee records, Social Security numbers, and the like to enhance data security and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches. Encryption helps safeguard sensitive data by converting it into a coded format that can only be accessed or decrypted with the appropriate encryption key, adding an additional layer of protection against unauthorized disclosure or misuse.

Link(s):
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/ran...n-north-america-results-in-employee-data-loss