The prominent car rental company Avis has announced that it experienced a significant data breach in early August, impacting a range of customer information.
In a communication sent to impacted individuals, Avis noted that an “unauthorized third party” gained access to one of its operational applications, allowing the intruder to extract sensitive and personally identifiable information (PII).
This incident reportedly occurred between August 3 and 6, with the breach being identified on August 5. Although Avis has declared its cooperation with law enforcement and cybersecurity specialists, the full scope of the breach remains unclear.
Avis Issues Update on Data Breach
Further investigations into this cyber event revealed on August 14 that unauthorized access had indeed compromised some PII. Due to sections redacted in their notification letter, it is impossible to ascertain specifics about which types of data were accessed aside from customer names.
TechRadar Pro reached out for verification regarding the number of customers affected and their geographical distribution; however, no immediate response was received from Avis.
In their alert to customers, Avis stated: “We have initiated enhancements to our systems by implementing additional security measures while thoroughly reviewing our monitoring processes and controls.”
To assist those affected by this breach, Avis is providing complimentary one-year credit monitoring services through Equifax. These services can be activated using provided codes before December 31.
Avis advises individuals connected to this incident review bank statements and monitor their credit reports actively for any signs of unusual activity or fraud.
The possibility exists that email addresses, phone numbers, and residential addresses have been compromised; therefore, both current customers who rented vehicles recently as well as those with an online presence should be on guard against potential phishing scams and identity theft attempts.
Additively important are basic digital safety practices such as regularly updating passwords with strong alternatives and enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible.
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