800,000 Texans Caught Up in Massive Cruise Line Data Breach
More than 800,000 Texans are among millions of people whose personal information may have been exposed following a major data breach involving Carnival Corporation, one of the world’s largest cruise operators.
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According to the company, approximately 6 million individuals were impacted after cybercriminals gained access to sensitive information through a targeted attack on a Carnival employee. Rather than exploiting a companywide system vulnerability, hackers reportedly used deception tactics to trick an employee into providing access that ultimately led to the breach.
Carnival said many of the affected Texans were cruise passengers who traveled through Gulf Coast ports, including Galveston, one of the nation’s busiest cruise terminals. The compromised information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers and other personal details commonly sought by identity thieves.
The company notified customers of the incident on Wednesday, revealing that the breach occurred on April 14. Carnival is now offering complimentary credit monitoring services to affected individuals and, in some cases, access to third party cybersecurity experts to help customers protect themselves from potential fraud and identity theft.
The disclosure comes as Carnival continues expanding its presence in Texas. Just last week, the company announced plans for its new cruise ship, the Tropicale, which is expected to make Galveston its home port beginning in 2028. Meanwhile, customers are being encouraged to monitor their financial accounts, review their credit reports and remain alert for suspicious emails, phone calls or other signs of identity theft following the breach.
800,000 Texans Caught Up in Massive Cruise Line Data Breach was originally published on theboxhouston.com
