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Booking.com suffers data breach, leaves guests’ personal details exposed
The travel giant faces fresh scrutiny after criminals accessed customer reservation details in its latest security lapse
AMSTERDAM: Booking.com, the world’s largest accommodation platform, has been hacked. Unnamed criminals broke into the Dutch firm’s systems and made off with a trove of guests’ personal data, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and reservation details, in what the company is calling an attack by “unauthorised third parties”.
The firm, which lists more than 30m properties and shuttles millions of travellers through its platform each year, has been tight-lipped about the scale of the breach. It has refused to say how many customers were affected, though it insists that financial data was left untouched. Cold comfort for those whose private details are now floating in criminal hands.
In a letter to affected guests, the company confirmed that the hackers may have accessed “certain booking information” tied to past reservations, along with anything customers had shared directly with their accommodation. Pin numbers for affected bookings have since been reset, the digital equivalent of changing the locks after the burglars have already left.
This is not Booking.com’s first dance with cybercrime. In 2018, fraudsters used phishing tactics to filch login credentials from hotel staff in the United Arab Emirates, eventually harvesting booking data from more than 4,000 customers. The company then compounded the damage by reporting that breach to the Dutch privacy regulator 22 days late, earning itself a €475,000 fine. The current breach has yet to be fully assessed, but regulators will be watching closely.
The wider platform has also been plagued by scammers impersonating properties to extract payment details from travellers ahead of their trips, a problem that has grown faster than the company’s appetite to solve it.
Booking.com is owned by Booking Holdings, the $137bn American behemoth that also controls OpenTable, Agoda and Kayak. Its parent may have deep pockets, but no amount of money appears to be buying it a clean security record.
For a company whose entire business is built on trust, this is becoming an alarmingly expensive habit.
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Just Dial reports strong Q4 and FY26 results despite one-time hit
Search giant posts Rs 4,970 crore net profit for the year, driven by robust operating performance.
MUMBAI: Just Dial has delivered another solid set of numbers proving that even in a tough year, its core business continues to click. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1,000 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and Rs 4,970 crore for the full financial year. Revenue from operations (net of GST) stood at Rs 3,072 crore for the quarter and Rs 12,139 crore for the year, reflecting steady growth in its core search and related services business.
Total income for the quarter was Rs 3,559 crore, while full-year total income reached Rs 15,477 crore.
On the expense side, employee benefits remained the largest cost at Rs 1,840 crore for the quarter. The company also recorded a one-time exceptional impact of Rs 211 crore due to changes in labour codes affecting gratuity calculations.
Despite this, Just Dial maintained healthy profitability, with earnings per share (basic) at Rs 11.76 for the quarter and Rs 58.44 for the full year.
The results come on the back of consistent performance in its search and search-related services segment. The company continues to benefit from its strong position as India’s leading local search platform.
Just Dial also noted the resignation of its long-serving Chief Financial Officer, Abhishek Bansal, effective 15 April 2026, citing personal career considerations. Bansal had been with the company for over 12 years, including more than eight years as CFO.
In a statement, the company placed on record its appreciation for his contributions.
While the broader media and digital landscape faces headwinds, Just Dial continues to demonstrate resilience. Its focus on core strengths local search, content, and monetisation appears to be paying off, even as it navigates a dynamic environment.
With steady revenue growth and healthy bottom-line performance, Just Dial remains one of the more consistent players in India’s digital ecosystem. As it turns the page on its finance leadership, the company looks well-positioned to maintain its momentum in the year ahead.
