Cable and Wireless asks Bulldog data theft victims to get in touch
Information Commissioner: 'whodonewhatnow?'
Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery
Cable and Wireless says there is no evidence that credit card details were taken in a data breach that led to complaints from customers who received unsolicited marketing calls.
A spokeswoman told The Reg the telco couldn't say what exactly had been stolen.
The Guardian reported that unspecified information about 100,000 subscribers to Bulldog, the ISP which Cable and Wireless sold to Pipex last year, had been stolen.
The Information Commissioner's Office told The Reg it had not received any complaints about the security breach. A spokeswoman for the government data watchdog said it will write to Bulldog to ask what data protection measures were in place. Information on your rights and how to complain is here.
We pointed out that when the breach took place in 2005, Bulldog was part of Cable and Wireless, not its current owner Pipex. The spokeswoman said: "OK...I'll pass that information on because it's obviously quite important."
Cable and Wireless said: "We are already taking appropriate legal action against the third parties that we believe may be responsible for this unauthorised use of our customer data." It appealed for Bulldog customers who think they might have been affected to get in touch to assist with legal proceedings.
Pipex meanwhile said: "Our understanding is that following an external enquiry by Cable and Wireless it has become apparent that at some point in December 2005 Cable and Wireless had some of their customer contact details illegally obtained." ®
COMMENTS
The wonder of it all?
"Cable and Wireless maintans there is no evidence that credit card details were taken in a breach which has led to complaints from customers who received unsolicited marketing calls."
"The Guardian was contacted by one of those affected who said it included bank account and credit card details"
There appears to be some dispute with C&W's statement with regrad to credit card disclosure. However,
does that mean that they are at least admitting that other personally identifiable details were disclosed through a security breach?
"James Brown, managing director of Bulldog Internet, said"... I am wonderfing where the statement is from Mark Hanvey the CSO of Cable & Wireless. We haven't heard a word from him on the subject. It always makes me suspecious when the person in charge of somethingh has other officals speaking for them.
Cable and Wireless said: "We are already taking appropriate legal action against the third parties that we believe may be responsible for this unauthorised use of our customer data."
Interesting statement. I think it would be more conformting for C&W's customers to know that the information security programe at C&W was being reviwed and fixed. I doubt C&W sueing those responsible is going to make their current customers feel any safer.
This it has happened is a given. I would be more concerned with how it happened and how to fix the issues at hand than poorly crafted PR damage control.
wow...
...how proactive of them. so, now i have to keep checking my card statements for fraud regarding the TK Maxx debacle AND this?? and how do i know which one's which if i do find out?
friendly note to companies: can you spend the required amount of money setting up PROPER, SECURE systems and keep my f****** details safe?!?
Bulldog (Bad Dog) still billing
Bulldog are still sending me Bills by email, even though I cancelled my subscription SIX MONTHS AGO. They even called to confirm that I had cancelled after I complained to the board of directors. But they STILL keep sending me bills, six months later!
Bad Dog! Bad!
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Data control in the cloud
