Gun owners could be in trouble after hackers breached their sensitive information on Guns.Com. These online attackers leaked their personal data on Dark Web.
Participant hold their laptops in front of an illuminated wall at the annual Chaos Computer Club (CCC) computer hackers' congress, called 29C3, on December 28, 2012 in Hamburg, Germany. The 29th Chaos Communication Congress (29C3) attracts hundreds of participants worldwide annually to engage in workshops and lectures discussing the role of technology in society and its future.
According to Gizmodo's latest report, the latest online attack might be a big one since the mentioned website is used by many U.S. citizens interested in buying guns and other weapons. The online store also allows its consumers to have their purchases delivered right at their doorsteps.
The massive attack started in January when the cybercriminals temporarily disabled the website's system. Because of this, the company's regular retail operations were stopped, forcing the owner of the gun retail store to apologize to its consumers.
"First, we want to apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers," said the company via its official blog post.
"We are working hard to make sure that any and all orders that were impacted are fulfilled satisfactorily, and fully expect to be able to do so," added the retail store.
What the leaked data on Dark Web contains
Security experts confirmed that the hackers were able to leak the gun owners' IDs, email addresses, full names, phone numbers, hashed passwords, and more. They explained that the most alarming info that was leaked is the physical addresses of the customers.
Hackers were able specifically to acquire their zip, state, and city code information.
Aside from these details, the leaked file also contains the information of the firearms providers, who usually sell their guns on the platform.
Possible reason why the hackers breached the platform
Guns.com explained that the main reason for the online attackers is probably to stop their business from operating. The company even claimed that there are no signs of stealing their data.
However, their statemet turned out to be incorrect after security researchers discovered a large file cache, which was leaked on the popular Dark Web site called Raid Forums. Security researchers claimed that the cybercriminals might have leaked the administrative data as well.
They added that the leaked excel file shows sensitive login details of Guns.com's consumers such as WordPress, MYSQL, and Cloud credentials. However, the security experts said that it is not confirmed yet if the mentioned details are the only ones leaked on the Dark Web.
For more news updates about the Guns.com attack and other security breaches, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: US Navy Wants People to Breach Its System: How to Join and Common Hacking Methods Use
This article is owned by TechTimes.
Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
