A cyberattack on the French camping booking website Secureholiday has exposed the personal data of 41,577 Dutch customers. Manuel Mirabel, chief executive of parent company Ctoutvert, confirmed the breach to EenVandaag, which first reported the incident on Wednesday.
Mirabel said a hacker gained access to a third-party system in late February. The stolen information includes names, destinations, email addresses, booking details, and payment amounts. He said payment card and banking details were not compromised. According to Mirabel, all affected customers have been informed through their campsite.
The breach affected around 500 campsites across several European countries, particularly in France, Spain, and Italy. More than half of the affected campers are French. The leaked data relates to some bookings made between October and the end of February. Ctoutvert has not disclosed the total number of people affected.
Security measures
The company said it detected the breach on 28 February and closed it immediately. Ctoutvert then introduced additional security measures and filed a complaint with the French authorities.
Mirabel also said that criminals have since sent emails and WhatsApp messages to campers. At least 14 customers have fallen victim to phishing scams. In these scams, criminals send fake messages that appear to come from a legitimate organisation and may include payment requests. Six of the victims are Dutch, according to Mirabel. He said all affected customers are in contact with their bank and campsite.
Eighteen European countries
Ctoutvert operates in 18 European countries and allows holidaymakers to book stays at 4,300 campsites.
The incident follows several other cybersecurity breaches involving holiday booking platforms this year. In April, Booking.com reported that “unauthorised third parties” had gained access to customer booking information. In March, it emerged that personal data belonging to customers of Roan, Vacanceselect, and Eurocamp had been stolen. Those websites are part of the France-based European Camping Group (ECG).
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