Dis-Chem, a pharmacy retailer, announced that it has been affected by a data breach that exposed the personal details of roughly 3.6 million customers. Dis-Chem released a statement explaining how it contracted with a third-party service provider and operator for certain managed services, including a database. the database contained personal information that is necessary for the company to provide its services. However, an unauthorized party managed to gain access to the contents of the database, effectively exposing all of the information it contained. Dis-Chem confirmed that it immediately launched an investigation into the matter to ensure that the incident was dealt with properly.
The investigation revealed that first names, surnames, email addresses, and cell phone numbers belonging to over 3.6 million individuals was exposed. Dis-Chem also stated that the unauthorized party may use the impacted personal information to launch additional attacks, such as phishing attacks, email compromises, social engineering and impersonation attempts. Victims of the data breach should remain vigilant and aware of the risk when opening emails and links. Dis-Chem is the second largest retail pharmacy in Southern Africa, boasting 165 locations.
Read More: Pharmacy Giant Hit By Data Breach Affecting 3.6 Million Customers