Indian audio giant boAt says it’s investigating suspected customer data breach

India’s largest audio and wearables brand boAt is investigating a possible data breach after hackers advertised a cache of alleged customer data online.

A sample of alleged customer data was uploaded on a known cybercrime forum, which includes full names, phone numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses and order numbers. A portion of the data that TechCrunch reviewed appears genuine based on checks against exposed phone numbers.

The hacker said the breach happened in March, which led to the compromise of the data of more than 7.5 million customers.

In a statement emailed to TechCrunch, boAt said it was investigating the matter but did not disclose specifics.

“boAt is aware of recent claims regarding a potential data leak involving customer information. We take these claims seriously and have immediately launched a comprehensive investigation. At boAt, safeguarding customer data is our top priority,” the company said.

The leaked data includes references to Shopify. Indian outlet Athenil reported that the alleged hackers claimed the data was obtained by using credentials stolen from boAt’s systems.

boAt, which counts Warburg Pincus and South Lake Investment among its key investors, leads the market of wireless earbuds in India with nearly 34% share, according to data provided by IDC. boAt also dominates India’s wearables market, boasting some 26% of the market share.

In 2022, boAt, which was valued at $300 million in its Series B round of $100 million 2021, filed for its IPO to raise up to $266 million. The brand, however, postponed its public listing plans after seeing a slowdown in the public market.