PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday confirmed that it was hacked twice in one week — once in Taiwan and once in India — but denied any damage or leak of customer data.
Acer spokesperson Steven Chung (鐘興維) said that the customers in India whose data were affected were informed, while no user data in Taiwan was compromised.
The hackers have tried to initiate communication, but Acer has not responded, Chung said.
Photo: Cho Yi-chun, Taipei Times
“We are not going to negotiate and it is not company policy to pay ransom to hackers,” he said.
Upon detecting the hack, Acer initiated all security protocols and conducted a full scan of its systems, he added.
A group of hackers calling themselves the Desorden Group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks, said tech news Web site zdnet.com, which was contacted by the group.
The hackers told zdnet.com that the attack was not done to obtain a ransom, but to “prove their point” that Acer does not practice the latest computer security, leaving its data and servers vulnerable to attacks.
Last month, the Desorden Group told the Web site Databreaches.net that their name stands for “chaos and disorder.”
“Desorden attacks along supply chains to create a higher level of disorder and chaos affecting many parties, rather than the victim itself. If the victim fails to pay, Desorden sells the data on the black market within a few days,” the group said, adding that they had hacked Malaysian logistics company ABX Express.
Chung did not confirm the identity of the group, saying only that “they have sent their message to the media.”
Chung also declined to give details about the number of customers affected by the Indian hack, saying that investigations into the two attacks are ongoing.
Acer said in a public statement that the incidents did not cause service disruptions and that the financial impact was limited.
Acer was hacked in March by the group REvil, who asked for a ransom of US$50 million.
Acer countered with an offer of US$10 million, which was rejected by the hackers, zdnet.com reported.
Chung declined to comment on the March incident, but reiterated that Acer would neither negotiate with hackers nor pay ransoms.
A previous statement from Acer said only that it had reported the incident to law enforcement in several countries.
Acer is not the only Taiwanese company to have experienced ransomware attacks. Contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), industrial computer manufacturer Advantech Co (研華) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) were all reportedly hacked last year.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS