Walmart customers who frequent the online pharmacy should take caution, as a recent data leak has exposed consumer data. During migration to a new server, a software coding error left online pharmacy customers’ data unprotected and exposed for a three-day period.

According to internetRETAILER, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. confirmed that personal information for up to 5,000 customers was left exposed. This includes names, addresses, birth dates, and prescription history. Fortunately, payment information and Social Security information was not compromised.

While Walmart did notify any consumers whose information may have been exposed, the specifics of the breach were not revealed in any detail. Nor do we know if Walmart is taking any actions to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

All we know is that it was a “software coding error” while data was being moved to the new server, which left personal data and medical records on display to anyone logging in to Walmart.com’s pharmacy pages.

While this wasn’t a malicious attack or a hacker attempting to get into the website, personal information was still left exposed and available to anyone for a good 72-hour stretch. That’s plenty of time for someone with less-than-noble intentions to log in, grab personal and medical information on several customers, and do what they will with it.

All this is just due to a coding error, a mistake that could have been caught and corrected early on. It stands as a reminder to not grow lax and let things slip by; simple mistakes can sometimes be as big a threat as targeted attacks.

Photo by MikeKalasnik