Honda Affected by Data Breach at Email Marketing Firm

American Honda Motor Co. is the latest company to warn its customers that a security breach at an email marketing partner resulted in their email addresses and other information being exposed.

The automobile manufacturer emailed "Owner Link" and "My Acura" account owners late last week and informed them that an email list was accessed without authorization at a third-party vendor.

The compromised data includes customer names, user IDs, email addresses and Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN). Account passwords were not affected.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. As a company, we believe that all customer relationships must be built on trust. That is why we believe it is important to inform you of this incident," the company wrote, according to a copy of the email posted on the Honda Pilot forums.

Even though Honda did not name the third-party vendor where the compromise occurred, it's most likely an email marketing company called Silverpop.

A breach at Silverpop resulted in compromised mailing lists at deviantART, McDonald's, Walgreens and according to an FBI agent, possibly over one hundred other companies.

In a Silverpop press release dated September 24, 2009, the company prides itself with receiving the Premier Partner Award from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "The company was recognized for excellence in supporting Honda's email marketing efforts," it says.

Interestingly enough, despite Silverpop being linked in one way or another to all of the aforementioned affected companies, only deviantART referred to it by name.

Honda warns its customers to be wary of email scams and to treat unsolicited links and attachments with caution. This advice should not be taken lightly, as some Walgreens customers affected by the leak already reported being targeted in a phishing campaign.

The company has set up a FAQ Web page about the incident and stressed that it has taken steps to prevent similar exposures from happening in the future.