Dell says 49 million customers were allegedly affected in recent data breach

Dell warned customers earlier this week about a data breach after a threat actor claimed to have made away with the personal information of approximately 49 million customers.

Bleeping Computer reported that the computer company started sending out emails with data breach notifications to customers on Wednesday, noting that a Dell portal containing customer information related to purchases was breached.

Dell shared the data breach notification with the outlet, which said:

We are currently investigating an incident involving a Dell portal, which contains a database with limited types of customer information related to purchases from Dell.

We believe there is not a significant risk to our customers given the type of information involved.

The company said that the stolen information did not include email addresses, telephone numbers, or financial or payment information. It also noted that they are working with law enforcement to investigate the incident.

The computer company does not “believe there is significant risk to our customers given the type of information involved.”

One X user took to the platform following the incident, writing: “Dell sent me an email notice of a data breach: What data was accessed? At this time, customer information accessed: •Name •Physical address •Dell hardware and order information, including service tag, item description, date of order and related warranty information.”

The Daily Dark Web previously reported that a threat actor named Menelik tried to sell a Dell database on the Breach Forums on April 28. The Breach Forums is a known hacking forum.

The threat actor posted to the forum, writing that they had stolen data from the computer company for “49 million customer and other information systems purchased from Dell between 2017-2024.”

Though the information the threat actor mentioned has not been confirmed to be the same as that disclosed by Dell, the information’s details match. The post has since been removed from the Breach Forum. Reports mentioned that this could mean that another threat actor purchased the database with the sensitive information.

The computer company does not “believe there is significant risk to our customers given the type of information involved.” However, the breached data could be used against Dell customers.

The Register reported that once Dell discovered the digital breach, it immediately kicked off an investigation.

“We continue to monitor the situation and take steps to protect our customers’ information,” a Dell spokesperson said.

“Although we don’t believe there is significant risk to our customers given the type of information involved, we are taking proactive steps to notify them as appropriate.”