BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. based
Hotels.com reported theft of an unencrypted laptop belonging to the travel Web
site's auditor, Ernst & Young Global, which it warned have
subjected more than 200,000 credit card numbers to fraud.
The laptop was stolen in late February somewhere in Texas
after an Ernst & Young employee left it inside a locked vehicle, according
to Hotels.com Senior Compliance Officer Cathy Bump. Hotels.com, which is owned
by Expedia, is based in Dallas.
Ernst & Young notified Hotels.com of the theft on May
3, and after determining which customers were affected by the data breach, the
two companies began sending out letters last week notifying approximately
243,000 customers of the theft.
The laptop contained names, addresses, and credit or debit
card information, mostly related to Hotels.com transactions that occurred in
2004, although some customers who made purchases in 2003 and 2002 were also
affected.
The combination of tough data breach notification laws and
stolen laptops is keeping compliance officers such as Bump very busy these days.
Since the theft, however, Ernst & Young has encrypted
data on all laptops within its U.S. and Canadian operations.
There is no indication that the thief was trying to steal
sensitive information, and there have been no indications to date that the
information that was stolen has been misused, said Ernst & Young
spokesperson Ken Kerrigan.
Ernst & Young is offering one year's free credit
monitoring to all Hotels.com customers affected by the breach. Enditem
(Agencies)
