Renault and its subsidiary Dacia have notified UK customers that some personal information may have been accessed following a cyberattack on a third-party service provider.
The French automaker, which employs roughly 170,000 people and has an annual revenue exceeding $55 billion,confirmed that the breach affected contact and vehicle details, but stated that no banking or financial data was exposed as a result of the incident, and no other Renault systems were impacted.
“We are very sorry to inform you about a cyber-attack on one of our third-party providers, leading to some Renault UK customers’ personal data being taken from one of their systems,” the company said in a notice to affected customers.
The exposed information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, vehicle registration, and identification numbers. This kind of information leak puts affected parties at an increased risk of being targeted by phishing campaigns and other social engineering attacks.
Renault has stated that the provider has managed to contain the incident, and UK authorities—including the Information Commissioner’s Office—have been notified of the incident. The company has not revealed the number of customers affected nor the affected third-party provider, citing contractual restrictions, but has advised those impacted to remain vigilant for unsolicited communications and to avoid sharing passwords or sensitive information.
The Big Picture
This breach adds to a growing series of cyberattacks targeting the automotive sector. Earlier this year, Jaguar Land Rover suffered a major attack that forced production offline for almost a month, prompting a UK government-backed $2 billion loan to stabilize its supply chain. Bridgestone Americas also recently resumed production after a significant cyber disruption impacted facilities across North and South America, and Stellantis similarly reported customer data theft through a third-party platform.
These incidents illustrate the increasing risks automakers face from attacks on third-party vendors, highlighting the potential for operational disruption and exposure of sensitive customer data.
