London Marathon Accidentally Leaks Privacy Data
An investigation will be launched by the British government.
An investigation will be launched by the British government.
When runners sign up for races online they take for granted the fact that their privacy data–names, addresses, and phone numbers–are safe and secure. However, for 38,000 runners who took part in last weekend’s Virgin London Marathon, this might not be the case.
According to a report on the BBC Web site, the home addresses and personal email details of all runners was accidentally made publicly available.
Among those who had their information leaked were high-profile celebrities and politicians. Apparently, anyone could access the information for at least 24 hours.
“We apologise for this error, and are grateful to the BBC for bringing it to our attention,” said the chief executive of the London Marathon, Nick Bitel. “We immediately made sure that the glitch was corrected. We do not believe that this has led to a substantial number of individuals’ details being accessed by members of the public.”
Among those with leaked info was celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey who took part in the race.