Disney Destination eMails Obtained by Hacker

Millions of e-mail addresses in a Disney Destination marketing database have been hacked.

The hackers did not get into Disney's computer system. Instead, they hacked into the system of its e-mail service provider Epsilon, Disney officials said.

According to a story by Gary Taylor at the Orlando Sentinel, Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said Disney officials are "disappointed" that someone was able to get access to some of their guests' e-mail addresses.

Epsilon released a statement saying it detected the problem Wednesday. Some of its clients' customer data was exposed by an unauthorized entry into Epsilon's e-mail system, the release said, adding the information obtained was limited to e-mail addresses and/or customer names.

Epsilon spokeswoman Jessica Simon would provide no other information Sunday night, other than to say the company is cooperating with authorities.

Epsilon sent e-mails on behalf of Disney Destination notifying them of problem and warning them to be careful in opening e-mails.

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Media Confidential was able to obtain a copy of the Disney eMail:

Dear Guest,

We have been informed by one of our email service providers, Epsilon,
that your email address was exposed by an unauthorized entry into that
provider's computer system.  We use our email service providers to
help us manage the large number of email communications with our
guests.  Our email service providers send emails on our behalf to
guests who have chosen to receive email communications from us.

We regret that this incident has occurred and any inconvenience this
incident may cause you.  We take your privacy very seriously, and we
will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.
We want to assure you that your email address was the only personal
information we have regarding you that was compromised in this
incident.

As a result of this incident, it is possible that you may receive spam
email messages, emails that contain links containing computer viruses
or other types of computer malware, or emails that seek to deceive you
into providing personal or credit card information.  As a result, you
should be extremely cautious before opening links or attachments from
unknown third parties or providing a credit card number or other
sensitive information in response to any email.

If you have any questions regarding this incident, please contact us
at (407) 560-2547 during the hours of 9:00 am to 7:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Monday through Friday, and 9:00 am through 5:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Saturday and Sunday.

Sincerely,
Disney Destinations