Electronics giant Best Buy deactivates some accounts, says hackers are using combinations of data to crack customer access

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

July 10, 2012

1 Min Read

Electronics retail chain Best Buy is emailing customers this week to tell them that their accounts may have been hacked.

According to news reports, Best Buy is disabling some customers' email accounts until the passwords are changed.

"We are currently investigating increased attempts by hackers around the world to access accounts on BestBuy.com and other online retailers’ e-commerce sites," says the retailer's email, which went out Friday. "These hackers did not take username/password combinations from any Best Buy system; they appear to be using combinations taken elsewhere in an attempt to gain access to BestBuy.com accounts.

"Our investigation indicates that your account may have been accessed by these hackers," the email states. "We are taking action now to help protect your account; we have disabled your current password, and ask that you take a few minutes to reset it."

The email does not say how many Best Buy customers have been affected, nor does it say exactly how the "combinations" of data might have been acquired.

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Dark Reading Staff

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