India's popular audio product & smartwatch maker, boAt recently faced a massive cyber-attack in which hackers stole millions of data. boAt's data leak has become among the most talked about topics on social media as 'Shark' Aman Gupta-led company recently launched an ad campaign directly targeting US tech giant Apple. As per reports, in the boAt's data breach, approx 7.5 million customers' personal information was exposed and the hacker leaked all the information on the Dark Web. boAt's leaked data on the Dark Web contained names, contact numbers, addresses, email IDs, and customer IDs.
boAt's data breach took reportedly took place on April 5, 2024. A hacker named 'ShopifyGUY' reportedly claimed responsibility for breaching boAt Lifestyle's data. The threat actor has leaked files that contain around 2GB of data and in total 7.5 million entries of customer information.
For the unversed, boAt was co-founded by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta in 2016. boAt has emerged as a leading wearable brand in the country, with more than Rs 3,000 crore revenue (reported in March 2023). The Gurugram-based company has experienced rapid growth in the consumer electronics market and besides filing for an IPO in 2021, boAt has deferred its plans because of the market volatility. Although, it has raised Rs 500 crore in October 2022 from new investors and existing shareholders.
What is BoAT vs Apple?
Recently, BoAT launched an ad campaign urging people to "think better" and switch from Apple to boAt. BoAT's 'Think Better' campaign was also shared on the company's official social media pages. The advertisement shows boAt's earphones or earpods beside an Apple (fruit). A text inlay on it reads 'think better'. The ad also asked people not to be fanboys, but to be a boAthead. The taglines clearly takes a shot at Apple's tagline i.e. Think Different.
Not only this, BoAt also shared an advertising video with the caption, "Disclaimer: No Fruits .. were harmed in the making of this film. It's time to give an Indian brand a chance to compete on the global level. Don’t be a fanboy, be a boAthead." Interestingly, an actor in the video was seen dressed as Steve Jobs. The video showcased a woman talking about how she has shifted to using boAt's earphones for their sound quality. Meanwhile, her family is seen questioning her brand choice.