Princess Cruises discloses data breach as coronavirus halts business
Princess Cruises, already roiling from coronavirus outbreaks on two of its ships, experienced a data breach in 2019 involving customer information, the company disclosed in a notice posted on its website last week. The breech was first reported by TechCrunch on Friday.
"In late May 2019, we identified suspicious activity on our network," the notice said, adding that hackers gained access to "employee email accounts that contained personal information regarding our employees, crew, and guests."
Princess said the breach occured between April 11, 2019 and July 23, 2019, and potentially included crew members' and passengers' "name, address, Social Security number, government identification number, such as passport number or driver's license number, credit card and financial account information, and health-related information."
However, the cruise line said the data "is not specific to each guest" and that it had no evidence that individual customers' personal data had been "misused."
It's not clear why Princess waited nearly a year to disclose the breach or to which countries it reported the breach. Under GDPR, Europe's data privacy law, companies can face fines of up to 4% of their annual turnover or approximately €20 million, whichever is higher, for failing to properly disclose breaches.
The breach announcement comes during a tough time for Princess, which announced Thursday that it would suspend operations globally through at least May 11 following COVID-19 outbreaks that occured on 2 of its ships.
More than 700 cases were confirmed among passengers aboard the Diamond Princess, which was held off the coast of Japan in a quarantine effort that has been widely criticized by health officials and experts. Separately, more than 20 people tested positive on the Grand Princess, which docked in Oakland, California, this week. Already, a Florida couple who sailed on the ship have sued Princess, alleging gross negligence.
Carnival Cruise Line, the parent company of Princess, has been hit hard following the outbreaks on its ships. Since the virus began spreading, Carnival has lost more than 50% of its market value.
Princess did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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