Hacker Seeks to Sell 160 GB of Sensitive Data Presumably Stolen from Acer Inc

A hacker is now offering to sell a trove of information stolen from Taiwan-based Acer Inc that was presumably stolen sometime last month, according to a HackRead report.

The attack on Acer seems to have gone unnoticed, as neither the company nor any other party made note of it. In most situations, these types of criminals try to blackmail their victims with threats to release the data, as the most interested party is the affected company or organization.

In this case, the hacker, who goes by the moniker Kernelware, offered to sell information stolen from Acer on a forum containing 160 GB in 655 directories and 2,869 files. The hacker also shared some info to prove the data breach's authenticity.

According to HackRead, the stolen data includes confidential slides and presentations, technical manuals, Windows Imaging Format files, binaries of various types, backend infrastructure data, product model documentation, and information about phones, tablets, laptops and other devices. This seems to cover much of Acer's business.

The data also contains various ISO files, BIOS components, Replacement Digital Product Keys, and more.

The hacker requested payment in Monero, a cryptocurrency that's not as transparent as Bitcoin, for example, which is why criminals usually prefer it.

The company said nothing about this potential data breach and has yet to say that a breach has even happened. Worryingly, if a hacker got in and out undetected, that pathway could be used again in similar attacks.