Car auction website EBlock on Monday notified customers of a data breach affecting the personal information of nearly 2,000 people. The attack compromised users’ Social Security numbers, bank account and routing numbers, driver’s license numbers, names, and dates of birth.
Ransomware group Play claimed the attack in August 2023. It says it stole an unspecified amount of “private and personal confidential data, clients and employee documents, contracts, finance information and etc.”
EBlock says all impacted systems have been secured and restored, but nearly eight months passed between the attack and Eblock notifying customers.
Comparitech contacted EBlock for comment and will update this article if it responds.
Play specifically claimed an attack on absautoauctions.com, a URL that now redirects to EBlock. EBlock’s notification letter states, “On August 14, 2023, we discovered unauthorized access to a limited portion of the legacy ABS Auto Auctions infrastructure that rendered a business unit temporarily inaccessible.”
We advise victims to take advantage of the free credit monitoring being offered by EBlock through Kroll. Monitor your credit reports, tax returns, and bank account statements for signs of fraud.
Who is Play Ransomware?
First observed in June 2022, Play Ransomware has a history of targeting large organizations in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, real estate, education, and more. It’s known for double-extortion attempts that force victims to pay twice: once to decrypt systems, and again in exchange for not selling or publicly releasing stolen data.
Play prefers to break into systems by exploiting vulnerabilities, especially in remote desktop software (RDP). The ransomware uses intermittent encryption, which partially encrypts chunks of data instead of entire systems to avoid detection.
According to our data, Play claimed responsibility for five attacks so far in 2024. It claimed 48 attacks in 2023, affecting more than 210 million records. Its average ransom demand is $4 million.
About EBlock
EBlock is a dealer-to-dealer automotive auction site that operates in Canada and the USA. EBlock is a subsidiary of E Automotive, which also owns EDealer.
EBlock acquired ABS Auto Auctions in 2021 as part of its national expansion, during which it purchased multiple car auctions. In 2023, it acquired Houston Auto Auction for $5.5 million.