DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Now it’s TripAdvisor’s turn to report a compromised email database

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Dissent

Nate Cochrane reports:

TripAdvisor.com is the latest organisation to fall prey to hackers, who made off with the popular travel site’s member email list.

SC Magazine recommends TripAdvisor subscribers change their passwords as a precaution but not to click on any links from emails purporting to be from the travel community site. You may see an increase in spam in coming weeks that could contain malware or direct you to malicious sites so be suspicious of emails in general and click with caution.

In an email purporting to be from its chief executive officer Steve Kaufer sent to customers today, the site that bills itself as “Most Trusted” said the list was stolen last weekend and that it has since closed the source of the vulnerability. But it did not say what the vulnerability was or what it did to ensure it didn’t again leak its customers’ personal information.

Kaufer said “only a portion” of its member list was stolen but declined to say what percentage of users were compromised. TripAdvisor’s website said it had 20 million members, received 40 million unique visitors a month and operated in 27 countries.

Read more on SCMagazine. See also TripAdvisor’s statement on their web site.

A copy of TripAdvisor’s email to customers was sent to DataBreaches.net by one of the recipients:

From:  TripAdvisor <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Subject: An important message from our CEO
To: [redacted]

This past weekend we discovered that an unauthorized third party had stolen part of TripAdvisor’s member email list. We’ve confirmed the source of the vulnerability and shut it down. We’re taking this incident very seriously and are actively pursuing the matter with law enforcement.

How will this affect you? In many cases, it won’t. Only a portion of all member email addresses were taken, and all member passwords remain secure. You may receive some unsolicited emails (spam) as a result of this incident.

The reason we are going directly to you with this news is that we think it’s the right thing to do. As a TripAdvisor member, I would want to know. Unfortunately, this sort of data theft is becoming more common across many industries, and we take it extremely seriously.

I’d also like to reassure you that TripAdvisor does not collect members’ credit card or financial information, and we never sell or rent our member list.

We will continue to take all appropriate measures to keep your personal information secure at TripAdvisor. I sincerely apologize for this incident and appreciate your membership in our travel community.

Steve Kaufer
Co-founder and CEO
More information

No related posts.

Category: Breach IncidentsBusiness SectorHack

Post navigation

← Ca: Medical records found in Regina recycling bin
Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands learns online state park pass purchase site was compromised last year; 970 notified →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Mississippi Law Firm Sues Cyber Insurer Over Coverage for Scam
  • Ukrainian Hackers Wipe 47TB of Data from Top Russian Military Drone Supplier
  • Computer Whiz Gets Suspended Sentence over 2019 Revenue Agency Data Breach
  • Ministry of Defence data breach timeline
  • Hackers Can Remotely Trigger the Brakes on American Trains and the Problem Has Been Ignored for Years
  • Ransomware in Italy, strike at the Diskstation gang: hacker group leader arrested in Milan
  • A year after cyber attack, Columbus could invest $23M in cybersecurity upgrades
  • Gravity Forms Breach Hits 1M WordPress Sites
  • Stormous claims to have protected health info on 600,000 patients of North Country Healthcare. The patient data appears fake. (2)
  • Back from the Brink: District Court Clears Air Regarding Individualized Damages Assessment in Data Breach Cases

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The EU’s Plan To Ban Private Messaging Could Have a Global Impact (Plus: What To Do About It)
  • A Balancing Act: Privacy Issues And Responding to A Federal Subpoena Investigating Transgender Care
  • Here’s What a Reproductive Police State Looks Like
  • Meta investors, Zuckerberg to square off at $8 billion trial over alleged privacy violations
  • Australian law is now clearer about clinicians’ discretion to tell our patients’ relatives about their genetic risk
  • The ICO’s AI and biometrics strategy
  • Trump Border Czar Boasts ICE Can ‘Briefly Detain’ People Based On ‘Physical Appearance’

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.