American e-commerce platform, Amazon suffered a data breach just two days before their Black Friday deal. This data leak included customer names and email addresses. The company refused to give details on the number of people affected but it said it has sent out email to affected customers.
They also said the issue was just a technical issue that inadvertently posted customer names and email addresses to its website and not a breach of its website or any of its systems. “We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted,” Says Amazon in short statement.
The email sent out to the customers via email stated that,
“Our website inadvertently disclosed your email address or name and email address due to a technical error. The issue has been fixed. This is not a result of anything you have done, and there is no need for you to change your password or take any other action. The impacted customers have been contacted.”
It added, “Amazon takes all security-related matters very seriously and your account security is our top priority. We have policies and security measures in place to ensure that your personal information remains secure.”
See Also: Google to shut Down Google+ After User Data Leaked
TheGuardian reported that Richard Walters, chief technical officer of cybersecurity firm CensorNet, said those affected should ignore Amazons’s advice and consider changing their passwords.
“If the reports are correct, the information leaked – names and email addresses – is less significant than some of these other breaches, which saw card details leaked,” he said. “However, it would be wrong to assume that this makes the breach inconsequential. Cyber-criminals can do a lot of damage with a large database of names and emails.
“A large majority of people still use predictable passwords, and thanks to previous high-profile breaches many people’s passwords are also readily available on the dark web. For cyber-criminals, it then just becomes an exercise in joining the dots.
“If you’ve been affected, make sure you change your passwords quickly.” Walters said.
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