Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology, headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs (clamshells, 2-in-1s, convertibles, and Chromebooks), tablets, servers, storage devices, virtual reality devices, displays, smartphones, and peripherals, as well as gaming PCs and accessories under its Predator brand. As of September 2022, Acer is the world's 5th-largest PC vendor by unit sales.

It has been confirmed by the electronics company that one of its internal servers has been accessed illegally by hackers. The individuals who gained access are now selling 160 GB of data, which is being referred to as confidential. Acer confirmed that it suffered a data breach after a server hosting private documents used by repair technicians was compromised. During initial research, it was discovered that the data acquired by the hacker was accessed last month but was not available in the public domain.

Later on, the hackers declared that for payment of the information they are selling to whoever is ready to purchase such information, they will "only accept XMR." XMR is the short form for Monero, a cryptocurrency used for dark web transactions.

The hacker going by the alias "Kernelware." is claiming responsibility for a major data breach at Acer Inc., a leading multinational company based in Taiwan that designs and sells hardware and electronics products.

However, the company says the results of its investigation so far do not indicate that this security incident has impacted customer data. The confirmation of a data breach came to light after a threat actor began selling on a popular hacking forum what they claimed was 160GB of data stolen from Acer in mid-February 2023.

Here are some images of the data that was leaked and disclosed in the public domain. (Disclaimer: The images are blurred to maintain privacy.)

The leak contains a total of 160GB of 655 directories and 2869 files. It includes:

• Confidential slides/presentations
• Staff manuals for various technical problems
• Windows Imaging Format files
• Tons of binaries (.exe, .dll, .bin, etc...)
• Backend infrastructure
• Confidential product model documentation and information on phones, tablets, laptops, etc...
• Replacement Digital Product Keys (RDPK)
• ISO files
• Windows System Deployment Image (SDI) files
• Tons of BIOS stuff
• ROM files

For their safety, organizations are advised to take measures to fortify their sensitive data and systems, including using strong passwords, implementing multi-factor authentication, keeping their software and firmware up-to-date, monitoring for signs of suspicious activity in their internal networks, and keeping an eye on any insider threat that could be a cause of problems in the future.