Security warning for campers as data breach hits parks booking system in multiple states ...

People planning to camp at national parks this summer are being urged to watch for suspicious messages after a data breach may have exposed visitors’ personal data, just weeks before the peak holiday season.

Customer details may have been exposed in a data breach affecting the national parks booking system in multiple Australian states.

On Thursday, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) confirmed that Bookeasy, the third-party provider which manages its national parks booking system, had suffered a data breach.

However, the incident is believed to extend beyond Queensland.

Booking services for national parks in Victoria and South Australia have also been affected by the breach, while a separate security incident involving the same platform has been confirmed in Western Australia.

The exposed data may have included customers’ names, details, and booking information.

QPWS said in a notification that it was working with Bookeasy to investigate the incident, identify the specific data accessed in the breach, and assess the extent of the access.

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia had informed customers that it detected unauthorised activity on its platform and had engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident.

“As part of this investigation, it has been identified that some customer information, including names, details, and booking information, may have been accessed,” the service wrote to customers.

“At this stage, there is no evidence that credit card details were accessed.”

Parks Victoria has also heard reports that suspicious WhatsApp messages have been sent to customers their bookings.

The agency has acted with caution by temporarily suspending new campsite bookings while it investigates the breach.

Additionally, Western Australia’s Shire of Carnarvon issued a security alert in response to an issue with Bookeasy’s service.

The Shire said customers’ details and booking information may have been accessed.

It also warned suspicious WhatsApp messages circulating bookings.

At this stage, customers of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service have been unaffected by the breach.

On Wednesday, Bookeasy released a status update informing users of its booking platform that unauthorised activity had been detected and outlining the steps the company was taking to address the breach.

“We recently detected unauthorised activity within the Bookeasy platform,” the company wrote.

“Following a security alert, we were able to take immediate containment action. This included engaging cyber experts to assist with our investigation and provide advice.

“The nature of these incidents may mean that gaining certainty over what was accessed is not always possible. We want to be transparent with all our partners what we know and provide information to support your customers.

“While there is no evidence of targeting past bookings, out of an abundance of caution, we also suggest that our partners who may have been impacted consider contacting customers who have placed bookings in the past 12 months to provide the same alert.”

Customers of the affected parks are being urged not to click on suspicious links or provide bank details to suspicious imitators.

Further information will be provided to affected customers when more is known the nature of the data breach.