Breach, Threat Management, Data Security, Malware, Network Security, Phishing

Unauthorized party muscles its way into Bodybuilding.com’s systems

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Fitness retailer Bodybuilding.com last Friday disclosed that an unauthorized party used a phishing scam to gain access to systems containing its customer data.

According to an FAQ page posted on its website, the Boise, Idaho-based retailer discovered the breach incident in February 2019, roughly seven months after the phishing email was received in July 2018. "On April 12, 2019, we concluded our investigation and could not rule out that personal information may have been accessed," the page continues. "While we have no evidence that personal information was accessed or misused, we are notifying all current and former customers and users about the incident out of an abundance of caution to explain the circumstances as we understand them."

The exposed data includes names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, order histories, communications with Bodybuilding.com, birthdays, account usernames and passwords, and information included in customers' BodySpace profiles (although such profile information is typically public anyway, per company privacy policy).

The last four digits of stored payment card numbers may also have been affected, but the company says all other payment card data is safe.

Bodybuilding.com also says it continues to "monitor for suspicious activity" and "coordinate with law enforcement activities." Customers are advised to change their passwords and watch out for phishing schemes that leverage their stolen data in order to trick them into clicking a link, opening an attachment or supplying additional personal information.

Bodybuilding.com calls itself the world's largest online fitness store, with 35 million unique visitors per month.

Unauthorized party muscles its way into Bodybuilding.com’s systems

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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