Hyundai AutoEver America Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (HYU3405334110825)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the Hyundai AutoEver America breach identified under incident ID HYU3405334110825.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of Hyundai AutoEver America's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyundai-autoever-america, the number of followers: 75117, the industry type: IT Services and IT Consulting and the number of employees: 663 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 591 and after the incident was 571 with a difference of -20 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on Hyundai AutoEver America and their customers.

On 01 March 2025, Hyundai AutoEver America (HAEA) disclosed Cyberattack and Data Breach issues under the banner "Hyundai AutoEver America (HAEA) Cyberattack and Data Breach (2025)".

Hyundai AutoEver America (HAEA), Hyundai's North American IT subsidiary, suffered a cyberattack lasting over a week in early 2025.

The disruption is felt across the environment, and exposing Social Security numbers (SSNs) and Driver's license information.

In response, teams activated the incident response plan, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Threat expelled by 2025-03-02, and began remediation that includes Hardened security networks and Hired third-party professionals for analysis, and stakeholders are being briefed through Data breach notification letters sent to affected customers (e.g., California AG submission implies >500 Californians impacted).

The case underscores how Completed (intrusion dates identified: 2025-02-22 to 2025-03-02), and recommending next steps like Invest in identity theft protection services preemptively, Avoid sharing SSNs unless absolutely necessary (e.g., loans, taxes) and Prefer phone over online submission for SSN sharing, with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Data breach notification letters sent to affected individuals.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Valid Accounts (T1078) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating intrusion dates identified such as 2025-02-22 to 2025-03-02 (sustained access over a week) and External Remote Services (T1133) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating no specific vector listed, but week-long intrusion suggests remote persistence. Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Local System (T1005) with high confidence (95%), supported by evidence indicating social Security numbers (SSNs) and driver’s license information compromised and Data from Network Shared Drive (T1039) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating breach affected 2.7 million vehicle owners, implying centralized data aggregation. Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol: Exfiltration Over Unencrypted/Obfuscated Non-C2 Protocol (T1048.003) with moderate to high confidence (85%), supported by evidence indicating no encryption mentioned; high-volume PII exfiltration (SSNs, DLs) implies bulk transfer. Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Data Encrypted for Impact (T1486) with lower confidence (30%), supported by evidence indicating no ransomware confirmed, but prior 2024 Black Basta attack suggests possible encryption testing and Identity Theft (T1659) with high confidence (99%), supported by evidence indicating detailed victim profiles for fraud, including fake identities and financial exploitation. Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Unsecured Credentials: Private Keys (T1552.004) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating no direct evidence, but week-long access suggests lateral movement via credential abuse. Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Indicator Removal: File Deletion (T1070.004) with moderate to high confidence (75%), supported by evidence indicating contained by March 2 implies threat actor cleaned traces before ejection and Impair Defenses: Disable/Modify Tools (T1562.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating hardened security networks post-incident suggests prior defensive gaps were exploited. Under the Persistence tactic, the analysis identified Account Manipulation (T1098) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating week-long intrusion (2025-02-22 to 2025-03-02) suggests persistent access mechanisms. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.