Breach, Data Security

Data on 20M Chinese hotel guests dumped online by hackers

The privacy of millions of Chinese hotel guests is at risk after hackers leaked their personal data online.

Calling themselves the “harbours of evil goods” – a reference to the Later Han dynasty – the miscreants gained access to the data after taking advantage of a security loophole in the software used by some of the most popular hotel chains in the country.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, personal information – including booking details, names, phone numbers, email addresses and residential addresses – of an estimated 20 million individuals was compromised in the hack.

The hackers leveraged a flaw in the encryption technology found on the software created by CNWisdom, a Zheijian-based provider of wireless internet for hotels.

The leaked data can be found on at least three websites, as well as WeChat, a popular messaging service where the hackers have opened an account.

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