Hello Kitty' fan site exposed, but no data stolen-web host

[tal onzy]

More than three million accounts of Hello Kitty fans were left vulnerable to theft by hackers, but there is no evidence any data has been stolen, the Hong Kong-based company hosting the data said on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Sanrio Digital, part-owned by Sanrio Co Ltd , the Japanese owner of the Hello Kitty brand, said it had fixed the hole after being notified by security researcher Chris Vickery that personal information of its users was accessible.

Vickery told Reuters by e-mail that the company had plugged the holes he had found in three servers. But he said the database had been exposed for nearly a month, meaning that anyone who knew its internet address could have accessed it.

"It would have been extremely easy for a bad guy to take the data," he said. "Extremely easy. Almost as easy as downloading a web page."