Two detained for data hack on China railway ticket booking website

A file photo shows a screenshot of the webpage of 12306.cn on Dec 28, 2013. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- The China Railway Corporation announced on Friday that police have detained two people suspected of illegally obtaining and disclosing personal information stored in its official ticket booking website, www.12306.cn.

A statement from the company said that the two suspects, surnamed Jiang and Shi respectively, were arrested Thursday night.

The company said that the two suspects illegally get access to user information stored in the ticket sale system using account names and passwords that have been leaked by other websites. They also sold such information for profit.

User information registered on the ticket booking website includes real names, ID numbers, phone and email contacts. A user's account may also include information about family members and friends. China's railway tickets are sold based on ID information.

The company urged consumers not to use the same password for different websites or buying tickets from a third-party website.

The case is still being investigated.