Profile data of 685,000 HardwareZone users breached by hacker

This article is more than 12 months old

Feb 21, 2018 06:00 am

The user profile data of 685,000 registered HardwareZone (HWZ) users were retrieved by a hacker who accessed information such as users' full names, usernames and e-mail addresses through one account.

HWZ found out about the breach on Sunday after the discovery of a "suspicious posting" on the popular tech forum site, which is owned by SPH Magazines.

An investigation was immediately launched and it was ascertained that the breach had taken place since September last year when the unidentified perpetrator hacked the account and used compromised credentials to impersonate a senior moderator on the forum.

SPH Magazines said it has made a police report and also informed the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).

In a release yesterday, SPH Magazines said that the database does not contain IC numbers, telephone numbers and addresses as these were purged in July 2015, in line with PDPC guidelines. It has engaged security consultants to review the system.- MELODY ZACCHEUS