Avnet confirms data breach affecting EMEA operations, says stolen data mostly unreadable

Electronic components distributor Avnet confirmed that it suffered a data breach affecting systems used in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) operations, after unauthorized actors accessed a cloud-hosted database tied to an internal sales tool. The Phoenix, Arizona-based company said that while data was stolen, most of it is unreadable without proprietary software.

“Avnet recently identified unauthorized access to externally hosted cloud storage supporting an internal sales tool used in EMEA,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to BleepingComputer. “Most of the data is not easily readable without access to Avnet’s proprietary sales tool, which remains secure and was not impacted by this event.”

The company said it detected the breach on September 26 and immediately began rotating all credentials within its Microsoft Azure and Databricks environments. The process was completed the same night, and Avnet reported no further signs of unauthorized activity.

A threat actor claiming responsibility for the breach said they stole about 1.3 terabytes of compressed data, equivalent to 7 to 12 terabytes of raw files, including operational information from the EMEA region and beyond. The attacker stated their motive was financial and reportedly posted data samples on a dark web leak site to pressure the company into paying a ransom.

Some of the leaked files reviewed by BleepingComputer contained plaintext records, including personally identifiable information. Avnet confirmed the presence of such information but said it did not qualify as sensitive data under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The company clarified that much of the stolen material consists of historical point-of-sale data, potential sales opportunities, and employee contact details. It emphasized that the incident was confined to a single system in the EMEA region and did not disrupt global operations.

Avnet said it has notified relevant authorities and will contact affected customers and suppliers directly. The Fortune 500 firm, which operates distribution and engineering centers in 125 countries and reports annual revenue of about $22 billion, has not disclosed how many individuals may be affected.