Renault customers told to be vigilant after data hack

Renault's UK customers are being warned to be vigilant after a company that looks after data for the carmaker was hacked.

No customer financial data, such as passwords or bank account details, had been obtained, Renault said, but other personal data had been accessed from a third-party provider.

The French-owned carmaker would not specify how many people could be affected "for ongoing security reasons" but said it did not anticipate any wider implications for the company, as none of Renault's own systems had been hacked.

It comes after rival Jaguar Land Rover and brewing giant Asahi have had production stopped by cyber-attacks on their systems.

Renault UK said affected people would be notified and that victims of the hack may include a wider pool of people who had entered competitions or shared data with the car company, without purchasing a vehicle.

The carmaker said the data that had been accessed by the cyber-attack included some or all of: customer names, addresses, dates of birth, gender, phone number, vehicle identification numbers and vehicle registration details.

A Renault spokesperson said: "The third-party provider has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working with it to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities.

"We are in the process of contacting all affected customers, advising them of the cyber-attack and reminding them to be cautious of any unsolicited requests for personal information," they added.

Jaguar Land Rover was recently forced to stop production and take a £1.5bn loan underwritten by the government after being targeted by hackers at the end of August.

Earlier this year, M&S and the Co-Op were both hit by cybersecurity breaches that disrupted supply chains and customer orders, and accessed the data of shoppers.