14 DAY TRIAL // Horse racing website RacingPost.com has suffered a data breach as a result of which customer information has been compromised.
According to a statement from the company, the website was the target of a “sophisticated, sustained and aggressive” cyberattack on Friday and Saturday.
The attackers haven’t gained access to any betting accounts because the system is handled entirely by the company’s partner bookmakers. However, one customer database has been breached.
Users may have had data such as usernames, names, email addresses, dates of birth, physical addresses and encrypted passwords stolen, depending on what type of information they handed over when registering the account. Fortunately, payment card information is not stored on the website.
Impacted customers are being notified by email and advised to change their passwords, not just the one on RacingPost.com, but also on other websites in case the same passcode was utilized.
It’s uncertain what type of encryption has been used for the passwords, but the company says it can’t guarantee that the cybercriminals will not crack them.
Racing Post says the website is safe to use, all login and registration functionality being disabled. Additional security measures are put in place to prevent future breaches.
“As soon as we were aware of the situation we did everything in our power to halt the breach. As part of our efforts to resolve the issue, we have turned off the ability to register / log-on to racingpost.com. You will still be able to access the site safely. Members' Club content will also be available,” said Racing Post editor Bruce Millington.
“We are extremely sorry that this unfortunate incident has occurred. We believe it may be part of a wider attack on a number of companies. We thank you for your patience and understanding,” Millington added.