Austrian hotel chain Falkensteiner was recently the victim of a data breach when a researcher discovered an unprotected server storing the personal information of a significant number of customers. Anurag Sen, a researcher at cloud security firm CloudDefense.AI, discovered the exposed data and conducted an analysis which showed that the data was associated with Gustaffo, a company offering IT solutions for the hospitality industry. The exposed data included full names, phone numbers, email addresses, and booking details of over 102,000 customers.
Sen alerted Gustaffo and Falkensteiner of the breach but neither responded. However, the server was secured shortly after he informed them. Gustaffo claims only 13,000 individuals were impacted, as many of the records were duplicates, and that they have taken the necessary security updates to secure their system. Falkensteiner has yet to comment on the incident.
The researcher is disappointed that neither Gustaffo nor Falkensteiner have responded to his emails or informed their customers about the breach. This highlights the importance of data security and customer notification when a breach occurs. Companies should ensure that they have secure servers and a responsible disclosure program in place to protect their customers’ data and notify them in the event of a breach.
In summary, a researcher discovered an unprotected server storing the personal information of Falkensteiner customers. The data included full names, phone numbers, email addresses and booking details of over 102,000 customers. Gustaffo claims that only 13,000 individuals were impacted and they have taken the necessary security updates to secure their system. The researcher is disappointed that neither Gustaffo nor Falkensteiner have responded to his emails or informed their customers about the breach.
Key Points:
- An unprotected server storing the personal information of Falkensteiner customers was discovered.
- The data included full names, phone numbers, email addresses and booking details of over 102,000 customers.
- Gustaffo claims that only 13,000 individuals were impacted and they have taken the necessary security updates to secure their system.
- Neither Gustaffo nor Falkensteiner have responded to the researcher’s emails or informed their customers about the breach.
- Data security and customer notification are essential when a breach occurs.