Kristina Roberts
“Data is the new gold, and everyone wants a piece of it.” That’s a saying we often hear when talking about the online world. And recently, a major claim shook the tech industry. A hacker group has said that it managed to steal almost one billion records linked to Salesforce — a company trusted by thousands of businesses around the world to safely store customer information.
The claim came from a group known as “Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters.” According to them, they managed to access data belonging to companies that use Salesforce’s software, rather than breaking into Salesforce’s own systems directly. These hackers claimed that the information they took includes personally identifiable data — which means details that can identify real people, such as names, contact information, and maybe even financial records.
This is not the first time this group has made headlines. Earlier this year, they also claimed responsibility for hacking big British companies like Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover. These are well-known and trusted brands, which makes the new claim even more alarming. If the hackers truly got access to nearly a billion records, it would be one of the largest data leaks ever seen.
However, the truth of these claims is still unclear. The well-known news agency Reuters reported that it could not independently verify what the hackers said. And according to Salesforce, their own systems are perfectly safe. In fact, Salesforce made it clear that there was no evidence their platform had been compromised.
A Salesforce spokesperson stated, “At this time, there is no indication that the Salesforce platform has been compromised, nor is this activity related to any known vulnerability in our technology.” In simple words, Salesforce insists that hackers did not break into their servers or find a weakness in their systems.
So, how did the hackers get the data if Salesforce wasn’t directly attacked? One of the group members, who called themselves Shiny, gave an explanation in an email to Reuters. They said they did not hack Salesforce directly but went after Salesforce’s customers using a tricky method called “vishing.”
Vishing, short for “voice phishing,” is a kind of social engineering attack. In this type of cybercrime, the attackers pretend to be employees or technical staff and call up a company’s IT help desk. They use convincing language, fake identities, and urgent stories to trick real employees into giving them access. Once they get the right login details or passwords, they can sneak into the company’s systems and steal sensitive information.
Imagine getting a call from someone who sounds professional and claims to be from your own company’s tech department. They might say something like, “We detected a problem in your account. Can you confirm your login details so we can fix it?” Many people fall for such tricks because the callers sound believable. That’s exactly how vishing works — no complex hacking tools, just smart manipulation.
This technique shows how the weakest point in cybersecurity is often not the computer, but the human being. Even the best security software can’t stop an employee from being fooled by a convincing phone call.
On Friday, the group published a leak site on the dark web — the hidden part of the internet where illegal activities often happen. The site listed about 40 different companies that the group claimed to have hacked. But there was no clear proof that all those companies were connected to Salesforce. Both Salesforce and the hacker group refused to say whether any ransom talks were going on.
The name “LAPSUS$” may sound familiar to some because a group with a similar name was behind several major hacks in the past, targeting big tech firms like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Samsung. The “Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters” appear to be either a new version or a related team following in their footsteps. Their pattern of attack — targeting companies through social engineering and exploiting human mistakes — is very similar.
If their claim turns out to be true, the scale of this theft would be huge. Think about it — one billion records could mean the personal data of millions of customers worldwide. Such information could be used for identity theft, scams, or even to access other online accounts.
Cybersecurity experts say that even if Salesforce’s systems are secure, this event should act as a serious warning to all companies that rely on cloud services. Just because your data is stored in the cloud doesn’t mean it’s automatically safe. Employees must be trained to recognize fake calls and suspicious messages. One careless moment can lead to a massive loss of trust and money.
The incident also reminds us how fragile online privacy can be. Many of us share personal information online every day — whether it’s on shopping websites, banking apps, or social media. But very few people think about where that data ends up or who can access it. When a company’s data is stolen, the real victims are often the customers whose information gets exposed.
As for Salesforce, the company continues to maintain its innocence. It says it is working with its clients to make sure there are no signs of unauthorized activity and that their systems remain secure. Still, the situation leaves many wondering — if the hackers didn’t break into Salesforce, how did they manage to get so much data?
Perhaps the most worrying part of this story is that no one really knows the full truth yet. Are the hackers exaggerating? Or did they actually pull off one of the biggest data breaches in history? Until investigators confirm the facts, the claims will remain a mystery.
For now, it’s a wake-up call for every business that uses cloud technology. Data is powerful — but also dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. In the words of cybersecurity experts, “It takes years to build trust and only seconds to lose it.”
The world is becoming more digital every day, and with that, cyberattacks are becoming smarter too. Companies must not only protect their servers but also educate their employees. After all, technology may be strong — but humans must be smarter.
And as we wait to see how this story unfolds, one question lingers in the air: If one of the biggest tech giants can face such a scare, how safe is anyone else’s data?
