A picture dated May 22, 2012 shows a sign for a Vodafone store in central London. Photo/FILE
Mobile phone operator Vodafone Germany has said
that a hacker stole personal data of two million customers, and that a
suspect had been identified.
“This attack could only be
carried out with high criminal intent and insider knowledge and was
launched deep inside the IT infrastructure of the company,” Vodafone
Deutschland said.
The stolen data included customers’
names, gender, birthdates and addresses as well as their bank account
and branch numbers, but not their mobile phone numbers, passwords, PIN
numbers or credit card details, it said.
BANK ACCOUNTS
This
means that the cyber-criminal netted insufficient data to access
clients’ bank accounts, said the company, a subsidiary of the British
telecom provider of the same name.
It warned however of
the risk of so-called “phishing” attacks in which fake emails try to
trick customers into revealing their passwords.
“Vodafone deeply regrets the incident and apologises to all those affected,” it added in a statement.
Only
customers within Germany had been affected and would be contacted by
mail. The company did not say when the attack had taken place.
Vodafone Germany said it had discovered the attack, stopped it and reported it to authorities, but had initially been asked not to make it public so as not to endanger a police investigation.
“They have now identified a suspect and searched his home,” the company said.
“In coordination with the authorities, Vodafone Germany is now fully informing all affected persons and supporting them in avoiding possible adverse effects.”
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