On March 30th, an incident was detected where approximately 2 percent of Epsilon clients’ customer data was exposed by an unauthorized entry into Epsilon’s email system. Per Episilon, a permission-based email marketing provider for many large brands, the information obtained “was limited to email addresses and/or customer names only.” A full investigation is being performed to determine the source of this breach, but Epsilon has said that “rigorous assessment” has led them to believe no other data was compromised.
Some of the companies involved in the breach include Brookstone, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens, and more. For a more up-to-date list, please see Techland.
It is common for both small companies and large corporations to outsource their email blasts and customer communication for both efficiency and because of the large resources sometimes required. Breaches, which seem increasingly common, often call into the question the security of this practice. When large email-management companies are breached, as in the case with Epsilon, multiple corporations are compromised rather than just one.