Evernote loses 50 million users' password data

Evernote, a web-based app to organise and store business and personal data, revealed on 5 February that hackers had gained access to the personal information of more than 50 million of its users. The information lost included encrypted password files, usernames, and email addresses, and the company has therefore written to its users asking them to reset passwords.

The US-based company issued a statement saying: “As a precaution to protect your data, we have decided to implement a password reset… In our security investigation, we have found no evidence that any of the content you store in Evernote was accessed, changed or lost. We also have no evidence that any payment information for Evernote Premium or Evernote Business customers was accessed.”

Evernote can be used like an online personal organiser or personal data store. It uses cloud technology to store the data and its servers are located in the US. The company says on its website that it complies with the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework.

Privacy Laws & Business Roundtable with the UK Information Commissioner's Office in London on 8 April 2013 will explore big data, personal data stores and midata (data portability) issues. The title is: Taking ‘Big Data’ to the Limit: How far can companies go to monetise personal data? There will be speakers from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, the government's Business Department, Aimia (the Nectar Card company), Bristows, Tom Tom. BSkyB, the Lloyds Banking Group, and Mydex. The Early Bird rate until March 20th – £450 + 20% VAT.

Current Privacy Officers Network members can attend using one meeting off their membership