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TripAdvisor suffers data breach

by Sarah Griffiths on 25 March 2011, 10:29

Tags: General Business

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Once more into the breach

Tis the week for data breaches. TripAdvisor has announced that a third party has stolen part of its member email list.

Popular etailer Play.com has already warned this week that the names and addresses of its customers might have been stolen from the third-party marketing firm it uses, but payment details are safe.

Just like the Play.com situation TripAdviser has said that only customers' email details are affected but they could now be bombarded with spam.

In a blog post, the site said: "We discovered that an unauthorized third party has recently stolen part of TripAdvisor's member email list. We're taking this incident very seriously. We've identified the vulnerability, shut it down and are vigorously pursuing the matter with law enforcement. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience."

While the Play.om email breach could potential affect the site's 7 million registered British customers, TripAdviser has simply said the breach has affected a ‘portion' of its membership.

The website clarified: "The portion of our membership that was impacted may receive some unsolicited emails (SPAM) as a result [of the breach]. No passwords were taken, and any and all password information is secure. TripAdvisor does not collect members' credit card or financial information and we never sell or rent our member list."

TripAdviser said it is investigating the breach but it will remain to be seen whether such breaches and influxes of spam will put consumers off from using such websites.



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