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After a May data breach, CCleaner’s maker confirmed hackers stole a lot of paid customers’ personal data.
Gen Digital, the multinational software company that owns CCleaner, Avast, Norton LifeLock, and Avira, informed customers that the hackers exploited a vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer tool, which thousands of organizations, including CCleaner, use to transfer large amounts of sensitive data over the internet.
The email informed customers that hackers stole names, contact information, and product information.
The breach affected customer phone numbers, email addresses, and billing addresses, according to Gen Digital spokesperson Jess Monney. Monney said less than 2% of users were affected but did not specify.
Millions of people use CCleaner worldwide. CCleaner’s paid user count is unknown, but Gen Digital claims 65 million paid customers across its cybersecurity portfolio.
It’s unclear why CCleaner informed affected customers months after the incident.
In May, MOVEit file transfer tools were hacked, becoming the year’s biggest hack by number of victims. Clop ransomware stole sensitive data from thousands of organizations that stored data on these internet-connected systems using the never-before-seen vulnerability. Researchers tracking the mass-hacks say more than 2,500 organizations have confirmed MOVEit-related data breaches since May, affecting at least 66 million people. The true number is likely much higher.
Clop has not listed CCleaner on its dark web leak site, which ransomware gangs use to extort companies by publishing stolen files if they are not paid.
Norton LifeLock, another Gen Digital brand, was listed on August 14. A Gen Digital spokesperson said the incident involved only employees and contractors’ personal data and that “no customer or partner data has been exposed.”
Hackers planted malware in CCleaner in 2017 to spy on over two million users. The tool maker said hackers targeted prominent tech and telecom companies.
