Data leak at Ford Credit exposes customer information
In the latest data leak in South Africa, the personal information of some of Ford Credit’s customers has been leaked.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, called on government departments to immediately install the latest software update released by Microsoft. Picture: iStock
Ford Credit has warned its customers that an “internal data leak” exposed some of their personal information to third parties outside the organisation.
Some of their personal information, including ID numbers, vehicle descriptions, addresses and contact details were leaked.
In a letter Ford Credit says it takes the protection of personal data seriously and has taken proactive steps to address the potential risk to its customers. Ford Credit has secured the devices of all known parties implicated in the leak and has destroyed or will destroy the confidential data contained on them.
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Based on its investigation, Ford Credit believes the data was intended for telemarking purposes and the company urges customers to be “extra vigilant” should any external parties contact them.
According to the letter, Ford Credit has already refined its controls and processes after finding out about the leak to strengthen its defences and reduce the risk of it happening again. As an additional safety measure, Ford Credit has arranged for all affected customers to get a secure credit profile check free of charge until 31 July 2021.
The service is offered by TransUnion and will alert customers if anything changes on their credit reports so that they can identify any unauthorised changes and take immediate action.
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