Walgreen, McDonald's e-mail databases breached

San Francisco -- A report Monday by Associated Press said that Walgreen Co., McDonald's and Twitter each reported unrelated security breaches, involving customer e-mail addresses and other private information.



Walgreen said hackers who gained access to a list of customer e-mail addresses may have sent spam directing customers to enter personal data into outside websites.



AP also reported that McDonald's warned customers that private information they supplied when signing up for online promotions or subscriptions was exposed when a subcontractor improperly handled the data.



Walgreen has not identified how many customers were affected but told customers on Friday that no personal information beyond e-mail addresses was exposed. "Your prescription information, account and any other personally identifiable information were not at risk because such data is not contained in the e-mail system, and no access was gained to Walgreen's consumer data systems," Walgreen told customers.



McDonald's Corp. said that some customers' e-mail and other contact information, birthdates and other specifics were exposed but has not said how many people were affected, where, when or for how long. It said its database that was compromised did not include any financial information or Social Security numbers, and that it is working with law enforcement.



Twitter also reported that hackers broke into users' accounts and sent spam promoting acai berry drinks. Twitter said only a small share of its 175 million users were affected, though it didn't know how many.