Carphone Warehouse, the high-street retailer and owner of telecoms company TalkTalk and mobile network iD, has been hacked, putting 2.4 million customers at risk and compromising 90,000 customer credit cards.
The attack took place on 5 August, with Carphone Warehouse confirming on 8 August that it had been subject to a serious “sophisticated attack” on its network. During the breach, hackers gained access to the names, addresses, date of birth information and bank details of 2.4 million customers. Encrypted credit-card details “may also have been accessed”, according to the retailer.
Around 480,000 of those affected are TalkTalk customers, with 1.9 million being Carphone Warehouse customers. Other sites, such as OneStopPhoneShop.co.uk, e2save.com and Mobiles.co.uk have also been hacked. Carphone Warehouse owner Dixons Carphone says that data held by PC World, Currys and Dixons Travel remains unaffected.
Phil Barnett, EMEA vice president and general manager of the leading government and enterprise mobile solutions company Good Technology, warned that “many companies are still flying blind when it comes to security, because 60% think it doesn’t affect them”.
“The truth is that it's not just a conversation for banks or governments anymore – anyone and everyone is a potential victim of hacks and data leaks. Data is a company's biggest asset, but many organisations haven't yet got to grips with how to protect it in the new world order of mobile devices and cloud-based access. The security challenge won't go away and companies need to change their mindset in order to solve it.”
It’s unclear how such a breach occurred, but the UK’s data protection watchdog Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating the matter.
If you use the same password for your Carphone Warehouse or TalkTalk account as another service, especially online banking, be sure to change those passwords too.
As details of 90,000 encrypted customer credit cards were also compromised, it’s worth keeping an eye on your bank balance and credit rating, looking out for any fraudulent activity or newly-applied-for credit cards. If you’re really uncertain, your best bet is to inform your bank about what has happened.
The attack took place on 5 August, with Carphone Warehouse confirming on 8 August that it had been subject to a serious “sophisticated attack” on its network. During the breach, hackers gained access to the names, addresses, date of birth information and bank details of 2.4 million customers. Encrypted credit-card details “may also have been accessed”, according to the retailer.
Around 480,000 of those affected are TalkTalk customers, with 1.9 million being Carphone Warehouse customers. Other sites, such as OneStopPhoneShop.co.uk, e2save.com and Mobiles.co.uk have also been hacked. Carphone Warehouse owner Dixons Carphone says that data held by PC World, Currys and Dixons Travel remains unaffected.
Phil Barnett, EMEA vice president and general manager of the leading government and enterprise mobile solutions company Good Technology, warned that “many companies are still flying blind when it comes to security, because 60% think it doesn’t affect them”.
“The truth is that it's not just a conversation for banks or governments anymore – anyone and everyone is a potential victim of hacks and data leaks. Data is a company's biggest asset, but many organisations haven't yet got to grips with how to protect it in the new world order of mobile devices and cloud-based access. The security challenge won't go away and companies need to change their mindset in order to solve it.”
It’s unclear how such a breach occurred, but the UK’s data protection watchdog Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating the matter.
Carphone Warehouse hack: Have I been hacked?
Carphone Warehouse has been emailing all those affected by the problem, including TalkTalk and iD customers. While you may not have received an email, it goes without saying that, if you’re a TalkTalk, Carphone Warehouse or iD customer, log in, change your password, and check your account hasn’t been compromised.If you use the same password for your Carphone Warehouse or TalkTalk account as another service, especially online banking, be sure to change those passwords too.
As details of 90,000 encrypted customer credit cards were also compromised, it’s worth keeping an eye on your bank balance and credit rating, looking out for any fraudulent activity or newly-applied-for credit cards. If you’re really uncertain, your best bet is to inform your bank about what has happened.
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