UK data watchdog looking into phone retailer hack

Britain's information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Monday announced that it had launched investigation into a cyber attack on Carphone Warehouse, which involved the sensitive information of 2.4 million customers.

In a statement released on Saturday, Carphone Warehouse, a major mobile phone retailer in Britain admitted that names, addresses, date of birth information and bank details of up to 2.4 million customers, and credit card information of 90,000 customers might have been breached in a "sophisticated cyber-attack" discovered Wednesday last week.

The attack affected the division of Carphone Warehouse that operates or provides services to websites such as OneStopPhoneShop.co.uk, e2save.com, Mobiles.co.uk, TalkTalk Mobile, and Talk Mobile.

An ICO spokesman said the agency had been made aware of this incident at the Carphone Warehouse and were making enquiries.

Data breaches can increase the risk of "identity theft", where a person's data is used fraudulently -- for example, to open bank accounts or take out credit cards.

"Anytime personal data is lost there can be a risk of identity theft. There are measures you can take to guard against identity theft, for instance being vigilant around items on your credit card statements or checking your credit ratings," said the spokesman.

Carphone Warehouse said it was contacting all customers who might have been affected to inform them and provide advice. The company has also hired cyber-attack experts to investigate the breach. Enditem