Cyber security experts working to determine cause Manheim Auctions hack attack
Manheim Auctions which holds sensitive data for thousands of Aussies remains in turmoil after a major security breach as cyber security experts race to determine the cause.
Hacking
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hacking. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Car auction house Manheim suffers significant hacking attack
- Aussie market dives after $1.5 trillion shock
One of the nation’s biggest car auction companies is still in turmoil after a major security breach forced its operations into lockdown.
Forensic analysis continues by cyber security experts at Manheim Auctions Australia to try and pinpoint exactly what caused the IT hacking attack.
The security breach was first identified nearly two weeks ago.
On Saturday February 15 the company’s IT system was comprised which immediately put their weekly scheduled auctions into disarray in both Australia and New Zealand.
Manheim holds sensitive information of thousands of Australians who have had dealings with them.
This includes customers’ driver's licences, date of birth, addresses and personal banking details.
The firm’s spokesman Matt McAuley said nearly two weeks on from the initial security breach discovery Manheim was still in the “process of fully restoring our systems”.
They plan to be back operating as usual later this week.
“In the meantime, we resumed auctions on Saturday and will be running our regular passenger and commercial vehicle auctions today in Sydney and Brisbane and on Wednesday in Melbourne,” he said.
“We are also commencing online sales later this week for our industrial and salvage divisions.”
Manheim holds between 30 to 40 auctions weekly across the country.
It is one of the world’s largest car auction houses and has 145 locations around the world.
Mr McAuley said there was no evidence any personal data had been accessed as a result of the breach.
He apologised to Manheim customers for any inconvenience caused.
The matter has also been reported to relevant law enforcement agencies.
Cybersecurity company McAfee’s Asia Pacific’s regional director Joel Camissar said data breaches were becoming a major concern for businesses and organisations.
“They have to come out publicly now when they are targeted and customer records are impacted,” he said.
He said customers who had dealt with the company should be concerned about the privacy of their personal information.
“If I was a consumer I don’t want to be putting my faith in organisations that don’t protect my information,” Mr Camissar said.
“The biggest concern for organisations with a data breach is not that they could be fined but it’s the potential impact to customer trust and reputable damage.”
He said hackers usually committed their illegal acts to try and onsell customer information on the black market.
Manheim is one of many car and freight companies to be the target of data hacks.
Similar issues were experienced recently by delivery giant Toll Group and car company Toyota in 2019.
MORE NEWS:
What you need to know about big super changes
Weinstein rushed to hospital after guilty verdict
Senate push to strip Arndt of OAM after Hannah Clarke row
Kobe’s wife breaks down after suing 'careless’ chopper owner
Toll’s hacking forced the company to shut down a number of systems, sites and business units nationally which causing major disruptions.
Similar to Manheim they said there was “no evidence” personal data had been comprised.
While Japanese car maker Toyota had hackers breach their IT systems and accesses data belonging to several sales subsidiaries.
The attacks involved Toyota’s Australian subsidiary.
Originally published as Cyber security experts working to determine cause Manheim Auctions hack attack