Honda Motor Company in Japan has put an estimated 2.2 million customers in the U.S. on a security breach alert after a database containing information on the owners and their cars was hacked, according to reports.
The compromised list contained names, login names, e-mail addresses and 17-character Vehicle Identification Number - an automotive industry standard - that was used to send welcome e-mail messages to customers that had registered for an Owner Link account.
Another 2.7 million My Acura account users also were affected by the breach, but Honda said the list contained only e-mail addresses. Acura is the company's luxury vehicle brand.
According to Honda's notification e-mail to affected customers, the list was managed by an unnamed vendor. On a Web site addressing customers, Honda said it would be "difficult" for a victim's identity to be stolen based on the information that had been leaked.
However, it warned that customers ought to be wary of unsolicited e-mail messages requesting for personal information such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.
