TripAdvisor admits customer data breach
TripAdvisor has become the latest online company to be hit by a security breach after admitting customers’ email addresses have been stolen.
The online travel community has warned that members could receive spam email from malicious third parties as a result of the breach.
TripAdvisor says that while email address have been leaked, passwords remain secure and there is no financial information or credit card details at risk.
It follows the news earlier this week that online entertainment retailer Play.com’s customer database was leaked by a third party marketing communications agency.
TripAdvisor’s CEO Steve Kaufer sent an email to all the sites members yesterday (24 March) informing them of the security breach and giving information on how members could be affected.
In the email, Kaufer says: “We’re taking this incident very seriously and are actively pursuing the matter with law enforcement. We will continue to take all appropriate measures to keep your personal information secure at TripAdvisor.”
He adds: “Unfortunately, this sort of data theft is becoming more common across many industries, and we take it extremely seriously.”
Read Michael Barnett’s opinion on the need for data regulation.
