by: Anne Cutler, Cybersecurity Expert, Keeper Security
It’s been a rough week for Dell Technologies, who’ve been subject of a fresh data breach just days after confirming a probe into an employee info leak.
The breaches reportedly compromised 10,000 employees and their personal data, as well as sensitive information about Dell’s internal infrastructure. This includes system configurations, user credentials, security vulnerabilities, and development processes.
Reports of two data breaches within a week, impacting 10,000 Dell Technologies employees, is a painful blow to the organisation that’s already dealing with the fallout of an incident that affected 49 million customers earlier this year. The alleged threat actor, known as “grep”, has indicated on the dark web that the latest round of stolen data includes employee information such as names, unique identifiers, employment status and internal identification, as well as internal files, tables and plans. This follows a confirmed breach in May 2024 that exposed customer names, physical addresses, Dell hardware and order information.
The disclosure of this information is a clear violation of both customer and employee privacy and trust. These breaches underscore the persistent and evolving threats to digital security, and why everyone must take concrete, proactive steps to safeguard their own sensitive information.
Impacted employees and customers should take the following steps to protect their identity:
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Change the password and passcode for any Dell-related accounts immediately. A password manager can generate strong and unique passwords for every account.
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Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security that makes it more difficult for cybercriminals to access your accounts.
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Watch for signs of phishing attempts including unsolicited texts and emails that include suspicious files or links and urgent language.
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Sign up for a dark web monitoring service like BreachWatch so you can be notified immediately if your information has been compromised.
This spate of breaches is a wakeup call for all organisations to reevaluate their cybersecurity strategies, emphasising proactive measures over reactive responses. As cyber threats evolve, organisations must prioritise protecting both customer and employee data. Cybersecurity technologies protecting these environments must cover every user, on every device, from every location.
Data shows the human element is far more difficult to protect, and often, the most error-prone element of the attack chain, therefore, organisations should focus on implementing zero-trust security architecture and a policy of least-access to prevent unauthorised privilege escalation and ensure strict enforcement of user access roles. A Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform is essential for managing and securing privileged credentials, ensuring least privilege access and preventing lateral movement in the event of a breach.
Robust threat intelligence, continuous monitoring and rapid incident response are also critical. Companies should have security event monitoring to detect and analyse privilege escalations, enabling the detection and blocking of anomalous behaviour.
