#Travel Booking Company Hacked!

 

Cleartrip, one of the most popular travel booking platforms in India,  confirmed a data breach after hackers claimed to publish the stolen data on the dark web. 

 In response to a request for comment from TechCrunch based on advice from a security researcher, Cleartrip said it is taking legal action against  hackers. 

 "We have identified a security anomaly in some of our internal systems," a Cleartrip spokesperson told TechCrunch in a prepared statement. (The spokesman did not give his name.) "Our information security team is  investigating the matter in conjunction with a leading third-party forensics service provider and is taking the necessary actions. Appropriate legal action and remedies will be considered and action taken in accordance with the law.” 

 The exact details of the stolen data  and whether the data is  sensitive in nature  are not immediately known. 

 Security researcher Sunny Nehra told TechCrunch Monday morning about the data breach. The researcher said the hackers sold the data on a private, invitation-only forum on the dark web. However, the exact price at which the data was offered for sale was not mentioned in the post, according to the security researcher. This post was removed from the forums just a few hours after it was posted. 

 TechCrunch contacted Cleartrip after viewing a screenshot shared by Nehra that appears to point to the data breach incident. 

 "If you look at the filenames in the screenshot  the attacker posted, you can analyze the extent of the breach," Nehra said. 

 He added  that it appeared  the hackers got all the data from Cleartrip. 

 "In addition to files that apparently contain information on customers, income, etc., there are also files containing 'GST on advanced work', which raises many questions about the inclusion of some inside information,” Nehra said. 

 The files offered for sale by the hackers also contained those from June, suggesting  the data was recently stolen, the security researcher told TechCrunch. 

 Nehra also reported the incident to Indian CERT-In. 

 Cleartrip began informing users about the vulnerability in  ambiguous tones, without revealing details about what data  the hackers had accessed.

 "We would like to assure you that, apart from some details that are  part of your profile, no sensitive information related to your Cleartrip account was compromised in our systems as a result of this anomaly," the company said in its email. .Cleartrip also advised users to reset their account password "as a precautionary measure," it said. "We apologize for any inconvenience," the company said.

 Cleartrip was founded in 2006 and was acquired by Walmart-owned Flipkart in April last year. The company allows you to make flight and hotel reservations through its platform, which can be accessed through the web and native mobile applications. Cleartrip, one of the popular travel-booking platforms in India, has confirmed a data breach after hackers claimed to post the stolen data on the dark web.

Responding to a request for comment by TechCrunch based on a tip shared by a security researcher, Cleartrip said it is taking legal action against the hackers.

“We have identified a security anomaly in a few of our internal systems,” a Cleartrip spokesperson told TechCrunch in a prepared statement. (The spokesperson did not provide their name.) “Our information security team is currently investigating the matter along with a leading external forensics partner and is taking the necessary action. Appropriate legal action and recourse are being evaluated and steps are being taken as per the law.”

Exact details of the stolen data — and if the data is of a sensitive nature — are not immediately known.

Security researcher Sunny Nehra informed TechCrunch about the data breach on Monday morning. The researcher said the hackers were selling the data on a private, invite-only forum on the dark web. However, the exact price at which the data was put on sale was not mentioned in the post, the security researcher said.

Said post was pulled just hours after it was published on the forum.

TechCrunch contacted Cleartrip after looking at a screenshot shared by Nehra, apparently indicating the data breach incident.

“Looking at the file names in the screenshot that was posted by the threat actor, one can analyze the scope of the breach,” Nehra said.

He added by saying that it appeared that the hackers obtained all Cleartrip data.

“Apart from files seemingly having customer info, revenues, etc., there are also files including ‘GST on advance working’ which raise many questions about involvement of some insider,” Nehra said.

The files put on sale by the hackers also included ones from June, suggesting that the data was stolen recently, the security researcher told TechCrunch.

Nehra also reported the incident to India’s CERT-In.

Cleartrip started informing users about the breach in an ambiguous tone, without revealing any specifics on which data was accessed by the hackers.

“We would like to assure you that aside from some details which are a part of your profile, no sensitive information pertaining to your Cleartrip account has been compromised as a result of this anomaly of our systems,” the company said in its email.

Cleartrip also advised users to reset their account password “as a precautionary measure,” it said. “We regret the inconvenience caused,” the company said.

Founded back in 2006, Cleartrip was acquired by Walmart-owned Flipkart in April last year. The company enables bookings of flights and hotels through its platform that is accessible through the Web as well as native mobile apps.