Gun owners told to exercise vigilance following firearms dealer data breach

First reported by the BBC, hackers managed to obtain 100,000 customer records following a breach on the marketplace’s systems earlier this week. 

Stolen data include the names and addresses of customers, but “no information relating to gun ownership or the location of firearms was taken,” said Guntrader.uk. 

Upon learning of the breach last week, the Information Commissioner’s Office was notified, and both the UK police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) are investigating.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has urged gun owners ’to be vigilant around home security,” due to the possible threat of being targeted by criminals looking to steal firearms.

“Make sure all firearms are appropriately locked away and make sure buildings are kept secure. Follow normal good crime security advice and report anything suspicious to the police,” said BASC’s head of firearms Martin Parker, adding: “The National Crime Agency is aware of the issue and BASC is working with them to ensure we can update members as quickly as possible as the situation develops.”