Hackers expose railway ticket buyers’ information
Print Edition
RAILWAY ticket buyers have been urged to change their passwords after official website 12306.cn was hacked and the personal information of more than 130,000 users leaked online yesterday.
The leak came as the Spring Festival travel rush nears, the time of year when hundreds of millions travel back to their hometowns to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families.
Some buyers said they were unable to log on to the site or found it difficult after the information, including user names and passwords, was leaked.
Millions of people use 12306.cn to buy train tickets for the Spring Festival. “I tried a dozens times today,” said Frank Liu, who came to Shanghai three years ago from his hometown in east China’s Shandong Province.
The leaked information included usernames, passwords and emails.
China Railway Corporation confirmed the news in an online statement, but said the data leaked via channels other than its website.
“All the leaked information contains plain text, while the information in our website’s database is completely encrypted, which means that the data leaked via other websites or channels.”
Many people have turned to the Internet as the fastest way to purchase tickets in the lead up to Chinese New Year.
The ticket rush has led to the birth of software and browsers that allow passengers to cut ahead of others when snapping up online tickets. It is these channels that caused the leak, the statement said.
“We suggest passengers stay from third-party software and web browsers to avoid similar risks,” the railway company’s statement said.
Internet security experts, who found a database of more than 130,000 users accessible online, said computer users should have different passwords for different sites.
“The only safe way is to use independent and different passwords for important accounts like 12306, e-mail and banks,” said Yu Xian, vice president of Beijing-based security firm Knownsec.
China’s railway system is always severely tested during the Spring Festival rush and this year is the first time that people have been allowed to buy tickets 60 days in advance.
The leak has scared ticket buyers, with many saying on Weibo that they have already changed their passwords.
Police are investigating the leak.
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