The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is warning businesses that they must be prepared for a targeted attack. The warning comes as the Racing Post signs a commitment to improve its IT security practices after 677,335 accounts were compromised during a data breach in October 2013.

The attack exploited existing vulnerabilities in the racingpost.com website that allowed a hacker to gain access to the company’s database of registered customers. The information compromised included the customer’s name, address, password, date of birth and telephone number.

An investigation by the ICO found that the company had carried out penetration testing on its website in 2007. However, the company failed to apply up-to-date security patches after this time leaving a vulnerability which the attacker exploited. The ICO also found problems with the way the company stored its customers’ information.

ICO head of enforcement, Stephen Eckersley, said:“There is barely a day that goes by without a company being the target of an online attack. This is the modern world and businesses and other organisations must have adequate security measures in place to keep people’s information secure.

“The Racing Post pulled up short when it came to protecting their customers’ information by failing to keep their IT systems up-to-date. This data breach should act as a warning to all businesses that poor IT security practices are providing an open invitation to your customers’ details.”

The Racing Post has signed an undertaking committing the company to taking action to improve their compliance with the Data Protection Act by keeping their customers’ details secure. This includes introducing routine security testing and having a policy in place to ensure security updates are regularly applied by 28 February 2015.

The ICO can issue monetary penalties of up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act. An undertaking was agreed after its investigation found that the financial information of Racing Post’s customers was not compromised during the attack and the information accessed would not have caused substantial damage and distress to the individuals affected. This is the statutory bar the ICO needs to meet in order to issue a penalty notice.

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