Technologies

Hertz Data Breach Included Credit Card, Personal Data: Here’s What You Should Know

The car rental giant said a hacking incident involving a company it works with exposed its customers’ personal information.

The car-rental company Hertz is warning its customers that a data breach exposed personal information including driver’s licenses, credit-card data, contact information and in some cases social security or passport numbers.

The company said that hackers breached Cleo Communications, a company that it works with for file transfers.

The company said in a «Notice of Data Incident» statement (PDF) on its website: «We completed this data analysis on April 2, 2025, and concluded that the personal information involved in this event may include the following: name, contact information, date of birth, credit card information, driver’s license information and information related to workers’ compensation claims. A very small number of individuals may have had their Social Security or other government identification numbers, passport information, Medicare or Medicaid ID (associated with workers’ compensation claims), or injury-related information associated with vehicle accident claims impacted by the event.»

In an additional statement to CNET, a spokesperson for the company said Hertz takes privacy and security seriously.

«Importantly, to date, our forensic investigation has found no evidence that Hertz’s own network was affected by this event,» the spokesperson said. «However, among many other companies affected by this event, we have confirmed that Hertz data was acquired by an unauthorized third party that we understand exploited zero-day vulnerabilities within Cleo’s platform in October 2024 and December 2024.»

WK Kellogg (yes, the cereal company) was apparently affected as well by the same window of data vulnerability that Hertz says took place between October and December 2024. Hertz says it became aware of the breach on Feb. 10.

Hertz is offering its customers two years of identity-theft protection with Kroll and included a phone number to contact for information on the breach, 866-408-8964.

Another in a long list of breaches

Consumers have over the last few years had to deal with the fallout of multiple large-scale data breaches that have affected customers of companies including AT&T, Ticketmaster and others.

Franklin Orellana, a cybersecurity expert and program chair of data science at Post University, said that the Hertz breach may be different in the type of information that was collected.

«While the size of the Hertz breach may not be as large as some of the more recent ones, the nature of what was exposed makes it particularly concerning,» Orellana said. «That kind of sensitive data can be more far-reaching in its implications for consumers, especially in cases of identity theft or license-cloning fraud.»

Incidents like this, he said, are part of a rise in data breaches that affect third-party vendors of companies. Orellana pointed to a National Credit Union Administration report from a few years ago showing that 73 percent of data breaches involved a third party that was working with a credit union.

Sharing data with third parties can increase the possibilities of attack.

«These breaches are generally due to a lack of control or visibility in the security stance of these partners, and supply chain risk is, therefore, one of the most significant concerns in cybersecurity today,» he said.

As to what consumers can do about data vulnerabilities they aren’t directly responsible for, there aren’t many options for protection, he said.

«Unfortunately, in cases like these, consumers are largely powerless. You can do everything right, strong passwords, two-factor authentification, and up-to-date software, and still be vulnerable if a third party doesn’t store your data safely.»

Orellana added, «The burden truly is on businesses to vet vendors carefully and to have strong data protection policies across the entire ecosystem.»

Technologies

The Pause on iPhone Tariffs Is Set to Expire After June. Should You Buy Now?

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, May 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 10.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is that extra-long Saturday one, and some of the answers were pretty tough! I thought for sure the answer to 6-Across was two words, but nope, it was only one. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Common inclusion in a tourist’s brochure
Answer: MAP

4A clue: Olympic honor
Answer: MEDAL

6A clue: Any of a set of green plastic toys in «Toy Story»
Answer: SOLDIER

8A clue: Still on the loose
Answer: ATLARGE

9A clue: Driver’s license or passport
Answer: PHOTOID

10A clue: Star of the Eras Tour
Answer: SWIFT

11A clue: 30, 45 or 50, on a beach bottle: Abbr.
Answer: SPF

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Chills (out)
Answer: MELLOWS

2D clue: Prompt after swiping one’s card at an iPad cash register
Answer: ADDATIP

3D clue: Form groups of two
Answer: PAIROFF

4D clue: Flittering fliers around a flame
Answer: MOTHS

5D clue: Totally authentic
Answer: LEGIT

6D clue: Sticky stuff
Answer: SAP

7D clue: No turn on ___» (road sign)
Answer: RED

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 10, #229

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 229, for Saturday, May 10.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

I always start Connections: Sports Edition by scanning for clues I know that can’t fit into too many categories. Today, I spotted names of particular places, and was off to the races with the green group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Players sometimes disagree.

Green group hint: Also Lumen, or U.S. Bank.

Blue group hint: Academic sports organizations.

Purple group hint: Tennessee signal-callers.