LivingSocial acknowledged on Friday afternoon that it was the victim of a cyberattack that accessed the names, email addresses, and birth dates of 50 million customers worldwide.
The hack on the daily deals site also affected encrypted passwords. However, the site assured that the hack did not compromise customer credit card information or the financial information of LivingSocial merchants.
Employees and customers received news about the hack through an email, which was sent by the site’s chief executive Tim O’Shaughnessy. He explained that the cyberattack affected customers in North America , Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malaysia.
Along with the LivingSocial site, LetsBonus users in Southern Europe and Latin America were also affected by the cyberattack. Company spokesman Andrew Weinstein explained that those customers had data stored on a compromised company server .
As a result of the cyberattack, LivingSocial is requiring all 50 million customers affected to reset their passwords. Weinstein added that the stolen passwords were encrypted, making them more difficult for the hackers to exploit.
The hack on the daily deals site was first reported by website All Things D on Friday. A spokesman for the company confirmed the attack, which follows other breaches by big online companies like LinkedIn and Zappos. O’Shaughnessy wrote in the email on Friday:
“The security of your information is our priority. We always strive to ensure the security of our customer information, and we are redoubling efforts to prevent any issues in the future.”
LivingSocial did not explain how or when the attack occurred, though they described it as a cyberattack that “resulted in unauthorized access to some customer data from our shelves.” It is the latest bad news for the daily deals site, which gives discounts on everything from spa sessions to restaurants. The company announced last November that it was cutting about 400 jobs worldwide, or about nine percent of its workforce.
LivingSocial is one of the largest daily deals sites, along with Groupon. It is not clear if the company will release any additional information about the cyberattack.
