Hyundai AutoEver America Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Personal Information in 2025

Executive Summary

Between February 22 and March 2, 2025, Hyundai AutoEver America, LLC, a key automotive IT provider for Hyundai and Kia affiliates, experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to its IT environment. The breach was discovered on March 1, 2025, and public notification was issued on November 4–5, 2025, in accordance with regulatory requirements. The incident resulted in the exposure of sensitive personal information, including names, Social Security Numbers (SSNs), and driver’s license numbers. The exact number of affected individuals and whether customers, employees, or both were impacted has not been disclosed. No technical details regarding the attack vector, malware, or threat actor attribution have been made public as of the latest reporting. Hyundai AutoEver America engaged external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement immediately upon discovery. The breach underscores the ongoing risks to sensitive data in the automotive IT supply chain and highlights the need for robust third-party risk management and incident response capabilities. All information in this summary is directly supported by official regulatory filings and corroborated by multiple independent sources, including the California Attorney General’s office, BleepingComputer, SecurityWeek, and Gbhackers (https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-613730, https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/, https://www.securityweek.com/automotive-it-firm-hyundai-autoever-discloses-data-breach/, https://gbhackers.com/hyundai-autoever-confirms-data-breach/).

Technical Information

Hyundai AutoEver America is a critical IT service provider for the automotive sector, delivering managed IT services, telematics, over-the-air (OTA) updates, vehicle connectivity, embedded systems, and digital manufacturing platforms for Hyundai and Kia affiliates. The breach involved unauthorized access to the company’s IT environment, resulting in the compromise of personally identifiable information (PII), specifically names, SSNs, and driver’s license numbers. The breach window was established as February 22 to March 2, 2025, with discovery on March 1, 2025.

The specific technical attack vector used by the threat actor remains undisclosed. No evidence has been released regarding the use of malware, remote access tools, or specific vulnerabilities. There is no indication of ransomware deployment, extortion, or public claims of responsibility by any known threat group as of November 2025. The absence of technical indicators such as file hashes, command-and-control infrastructure, or exploit details limits the ability to map the incident to specific MITRE ATT&CK techniques with high confidence.

Based on the available evidence, the breach is characterized as a data theft incident targeting sensitive PII. The types of data exposed are consistent with those sought by financially motivated cybercriminals and identity thieves. The lack of ransomware or public extortion suggests the attacker’s primary objective was data exfiltration rather than operational disruption.

The incident response was initiated immediately upon discovery, with Hyundai AutoEver America engaging external cybersecurity experts and notifying law enforcement. The company’s official statement confirms containment efforts and ongoing investigation to determine the full scope of the breach. Regulatory filings with the California Attorney General and other state authorities were completed, and affected individuals were notified in accordance with legal requirements.

The breach has significant implications for the automotive IT supply chain, as Hyundai AutoEver America supports critical digital infrastructure for major automotive brands. The exposure of SSNs and driver’s license numbers increases the risk of identity theft, fraud, and potential regulatory penalties. The incident also highlights the importance of third-party risk management, as IT service providers are frequent targets for attackers seeking to compromise downstream partners and customers.

No direct evidence links this breach to any previous attacks on Hyundai entities, such as the 2023 Black Basta ransomware attack on Hyundai Motor Europe (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-motor-europe-hit-by-black-basta-ransomware-attack/). The current breach does not exhibit ransomware characteristics, and no threat actor attribution has been made.

In summary, the Hyundai AutoEver America breach is a significant data security incident with sector-wide implications, but technical details remain limited. All claims in this section are supported by primary sources, including the California Attorney General’s data breach portal, BleepingComputer, SecurityWeek, and Gbhackers (https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-613730, https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/, https://www.securityweek.com/automotive-it-firm-hyundai-autoever-discloses-data-breach/, https://gbhackers.com/hyundai-autoever-confirms-data-breach/).

Affected Versions & Timeline

The breach affected the IT environment of Hyundai AutoEver America, LLC. No specific software versions, platforms, or systems have been identified as compromised, as technical details have not been disclosed by the company or regulatory authorities.

The confirmed timeline is as follows: The initial unauthorized access occurred on February 22, 2025. The breach was discovered by Hyundai AutoEver America on March 1, 2025. The last observed unauthorized activity was on March 2, 2025. Incident response activities, including engagement of external cybersecurity experts and notification of law enforcement, began immediately upon discovery. Public disclosure and notification to affected individuals occurred on November 4–5, 2025, in compliance with state data breach notification laws (https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-613730, https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/).

The number of affected individuals and the specific populations impacted (employees, customers, or both) have not been disclosed as of the latest reporting. The types of data confirmed as compromised include names, Social Security Numbers, and driver’s license numbers, as corroborated by the California Attorney General’s office, BleepingComputer, and SecurityWeek.

Threat Activity

The threat activity in this incident is characterized by unauthorized access to the IT environment of Hyundai AutoEver America over a period of approximately nine days. The attacker’s presence was undetected from February 22 to March 1, 2025, at which point the breach was discovered and incident response initiated. The last observed unauthorized activity occurred on March 2, 2025.

No technical indicators of compromise (IOCs), such as malware samples, phishing emails, or exploited vulnerabilities, have been disclosed. There is no evidence of ransomware deployment, data encryption, or extortion attempts. No known threat actor or group has claimed responsibility for the breach, and no data has been observed for sale or leak on dark web forums as of November 2025.

The attack appears to have been focused on data theft, specifically targeting personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, SSNs, and driver’s license numbers. The lack of operational disruption or ransom demand suggests a financially motivated or identity theft-oriented threat actor, but this remains speculative in the absence of direct evidence.

The incident fits a broader pattern of attacks on IT service providers in the automotive sector, where attackers seek to compromise sensitive data or gain access to downstream supply chain partners. However, no direct linkage to previous attacks or known threat groups has been established.

All threat activity details are based on official statements, regulatory filings, and independent news reporting (https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-613730, https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/, https://www.securityweek.com/automotive-it-firm-hyundai-autoever-discloses-data-breach/, https://gbhackers.com/hyundai-autoever-confirms-data-breach/).

Mitigation & Workarounds

Given the lack of disclosed technical details regarding the attack vector, specific mitigations targeting the initial compromise are not possible at this time. However, based on the nature of the breach and the types of data exposed, the following recommendations are prioritized by severity:

Critical: Organizations should immediately review and enhance monitoring of privileged account activity, access logs, and data exfiltration attempts within their IT environments, especially for third-party service providers handling sensitive data. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be enforced for all remote and privileged access.

High: All organizations, particularly those in the automotive and IT services sectors, should conduct a comprehensive review of third-party risk management (TPRM) practices, ensuring that vendors and partners are subject to regular security assessments and contractual data protection requirements. Incident response plans should be updated to include rapid engagement of external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement in the event of a breach.

Medium: Employees and users whose data may have been exposed should be notified promptly and provided with guidance on monitoring for identity theft, including credit monitoring services where appropriate. Security awareness training should be reinforced to reduce the risk of credential compromise through phishing or social engineering.

Low: Organizations should review and update data retention and minimization policies to limit the exposure of sensitive PII in the event of future breaches. Regular tabletop exercises and breach simulations can help improve organizational readiness.

These recommendations are based on best practices for data breach response and third-party risk management, as well as the specific circumstances of the Hyundai AutoEver America incident. As new technical details emerge, mitigation strategies should be updated accordingly.

References

California Attorney General Data Breach Portal: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-613730

BleepingComputer: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/

SecurityWeek: https://www.securityweek.com/automotive-it-firm-hyundai-autoever-discloses-data-breach/

Gbhackers: https://gbhackers.com/hyundai-autoever-confirms-data-breach/

California OAG PDF (official notification): https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/HAEA%20Sample%20Notice.pdf

Black Basta ransomware attack on Hyundai Motor Europe (for context, not directly related): https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-motor-europe-hit-by-black-basta-ransomware-attack/

About Rescana

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