The Scattered Lapsus$ group, known for high-profile cyber extortion campaigns, has reemerged after a brief hiatus, threatening to publish stolen Salesforce customer data by October 10 if their demands are unmet. While the exact method of compromise is not disclosed, the group’s tactics typically involve unauthorized access to cloud services, data exfiltration, and extortion via leak sites. The absence of affected Salesforce versions or patch information suggests this is not a newly disclosed software vulnerability but rather a compromise of customer data through other means such as credential theft, phishing, or exploiting misconfigurations. The group’s return signals a renewed focus on high-value cloud service providers, leveraging the critical business role Salesforce plays globally. The threat tags include 'rce' (remote code execution), which may indicate potential exploitation vectors or prior attack methods, but no confirmed exploits are currently active. The medium severity rating reflects the significant confidentiality impact of stolen customer data and the reputational and operational risks posed by public data leaks. Organizations using Salesforce should assume their data could be targeted and prepare accordingly.

European organizations relying on Salesforce services face potential exposure of sensitive customer and business data, which can lead to loss of confidentiality, erosion of customer trust, regulatory penalties under GDPR, and operational disruptions. The public leak of stolen data could damage brand reputation and invite further targeted attacks such as phishing or social engineering. The threat also increases the risk of secondary attacks leveraging leaked credentials or information. Given Salesforce’s widespread use in sectors like finance, retail, and public services across Europe, the impact could be broad, affecting both private enterprises and government entities. The extortion element adds financial risk and may pressure organizations into paying ransoms, which can further complicate incident response and legal compliance.

European organizations should immediately review and strengthen their Salesforce account security by enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA), conducting thorough access audits, and monitoring for unusual login or data access patterns. Incident response teams should prepare for potential data leak scenarios, including communication plans and legal consultation regarding GDPR obligations. Organizations must ensure that all third-party integrations with Salesforce are secure and that credentials are not reused or exposed. Regular phishing awareness training should be reinforced to reduce credential compromise risks. Additionally, organizations should monitor dark web and threat intelligence sources for any signs of their data appearing on leak sites. Collaborating with Salesforce support and cybersecurity vendors to apply any recommended security controls or patches is critical. Finally, organizations should consider implementing data loss prevention (DLP) tools and encryption for sensitive data stored or processed within Salesforce.