Human In[Security] — Week of Mar 9, 2026

Today’s Menu (30-second skim)

• HungerRush (POS platform): breach exposes restaurant customer contact info to extortion emails
• AkzoNobel (paint company): ransomware gang steals 170GB, leaks confidential documents
• Star Citizen (game dev): account metadata breach affects undisclosed number of players

1) HungerRush breach: restaurant customers targeted with extortion emails

What happened (plain English): A threat actor breached HungerRush’s email marketing platform and sent extortion emails to millions of restaurant customers across the country. The attacker claims to have customer names, emails, addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive data from restaurants using the POS system. HungerRush says only contact information was exposed (not passwords, payment card data, or financial info).

Why it matters to you: If you’ve ordered from a restaurant recently, you might receive emails or texts claiming to be from that restaurant with urgent requests or deals. The breach provides criminals with enough detail to make fake messages look real and convincing.

How to protect yourself (do this):

• Do not click links in unsolicited emails or texts claiming to be from restaurants or delivery services.
• Go to the restaurant’s official app or website if you have a question about an order.
• Watch for requests to “verify payment info” or “update account details” — restaurants rarely ask that via email.
• If you ordered from an affected restaurant, be skeptical of urgent messages for 30+ days.

Published: March 5, 2026

Source: BleepingComputer

2) AkzoNobel ransomware: 170GB of confidential data stolen

What happened (plain English): The Anubis ransomware gang breached AkzoNobel (a major \$12 billion global paint and coatings company with brands like Dulux and Sikkens) and stole 170 gigabytes of data from a U.S. site. The stolen files include confidential business agreements, employee contact info, private emails, passport scans, and internal technical documents.

Why it matters to you: This is a reminder that ransomware gangs don’t just lock up your data — they steal it first, then use it for leverage. If you work for or have done business with AkzoNobel, your data might be in circulation. Expect phishing attempts and scam calls claiming to be from the company.

How to protect yourself (do this):

• Be skeptical of unexpected emails or calls claiming to be from AkzoNobel or any vendor you use.
• If they ask you to “verify” anything, hang up and call the company’s official number.
• Check your credit report for signs of identity theft (free at annualcreditreport.com).
• If you’re an employee, take advantage of any offered credit monitoring or identity protection.

Published: March 4, 2026

Source: BleepingComputer

3) Star Citizen game dev: breach affects player account data

What happened (plain English): Cloud Imperium Games (the developer behind Star Citizen, a space simulation game) confirmed that attackers breached its backup systems in January and accessed basic account information for an unknown number of players. The exposed data includes usernames, dates of birth, names, email addresses, and contact info. The company says passwords and payment data were not exposed.

Why it matters to you: Even “basic” account data is enough for targeted phishing and social engineering scams. If you play games online and use the same password or email anywhere else, this is a risk to multiple accounts.

How to protect yourself (do this):

• If you have a Star Citizen account, change your password immediately.
• Check if you reused that password anywhere else and change those too.
• Use a password manager to create unique passwords for every game, email, and service.
• Watch for phishing emails pretending to be from Star Citizen support — do not click links.

Published: March 6, 2026

Source: BleepingComputer

Grandma’s Firewall

This week’s simple rule: Don’t respond to urgent emails. Real companies don’t panic you into action.

Two scripts you can steal:

• “If it’s really from them, I’ll call the official number myself.”
• “I ignore urgent emails. I go straight to the official app or website.”

Share this: Forward to someone who panics and clicks every urgent email they receive.

— Philip | Human In[Security]