MarineMax breach exposes personal data of over 120,000 individuals
The nation’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailer had its systems hacked in March.
According to a notice published by the Maine Attorney General ‘s office, MarineMax Inc. suffered an external system breach caused by hackers from March 1-10, 2024 and discovered the incident March 10. The cyberattack exposed names or other unspecified personal data of 123,424 customers and employees, including 153 Maine residents (which necessitated the Florida-based company to contact the Maine attorney general).
MarineMax sent written notification to affected people on July 16, 2024 and is offering free access to 24 months of Experian credit monitoring services.
The letter also states that the breach impacted a “limited portion” of the retailer’s information environment and that it has "remediated our environment, implemented additional security measures, initiated an investigation with the assistance of third-party forensics experts, and notified law enforcement authorities."
MarineMax initially announced the breach in an SEC filing on Sunday, March 10, stating at that time no sensitive data was exposed. But in a follow-up public filing on Monday, April 1, the retailer said the attack had "exfiltrated limited data" including some personally identifying information of customers and employees.
According to Bleeping Computer, a ransomware group known as “Rhysida” publicly took credit for the incident on Wednesday, March 20, and has published MarineMax files, as well as screenshots of documents including driver’s licenses and passports.
[READ MORE: Fraud rises in 2023 for businesses, consumers alike]
In emailed commentary to Chain Store Age, Jim Routh, chief trust officer at cybersecurity company Saviynt, the affluence of MarineMax’s customers makes the impact of stolen data on them more significant.
"People who purchase boats have higher rates of discretionary income compared to those who make purchases at gas stations and convenience stores," said Routh in the commentary. "They now have to fend off downstream cyberattacks using some of the compromised data to obtain more fraud."
