In a TiVo service announcement on Sunday, the company informed customers that their email provider, Epsilon, had experienced a breach in security. The service provider has been hacked into by an unknown third party. Epsilon is the largest permission-based email service provider in the world with more than 2,500 clients and upwards of 40 billion emails sent each year. Woah.

TiVo users were assured the only information obtained by the hackers was their first name and/or their email address (which is used for registration purposes), and that “any other personally identifiable information” was not exposed and remains secure. TiVo did, however, warn patrons about opening potential spam emails and the risks they pose. This hole in the Epsilon security system will make it simple for spammers to target their victims with junk mail and potential viruses.

TiVo is not the only corporation that was hit by the hackers….not even close. The extensive list of exposed names include, but are likely not limited to, the following:

• Best Buy
• Walgreens
• The US College Board
• Kroger
• TiVo
• US Bank
• JPMorgan Chase
• Capital One
• Citi
• McKinsey & Company
• Ritz-Carlton Rewards
• Marriott Rewards
• New York & Company
• Brookstone
• Home Shopping Network
• LL Bean
• Disney Destinations
• Barclays Bank of Delaware

So far all the information provided has been simple notifications and warnings. The companies affected by the Epsilon breach seem to be downplaying the severity of it. I don’t know about you, but I would like to know how it happened. Who is at fault?

It is important to note that extremely sensitive information like bank accounts and credit card numbers have not been uncovered through the Epsilon security breach [insert sigh of relief]. However, one final word to the wise: If you are a customer of any of the previously named companies, do not open any suspicious emails and make sure your firewall is up to date!

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