Hackers Steal Personal Subscriber Data from ISP Bluebox Broadband

After the recent hacking and theft of personal data from several ISPs, including TalkTalk (here) and Vodafone (here), we can today report that the Northern Ireland focused wireless ISP Bluebox Broadband (North West Electronics) is the latest to fall victim with 3,000 people affected.

Sadly you won’t find any mention of the breach on the provider’s website, which is in stark contrast to the other two providers that made sure to publish the issue in the open. In fact we wouldn’t even know about it had the BBC not discovered the event.

Apparently one of the ISP’s servers, which was being used to store the personal details of those who had registered an interest in receiving the service, was compromised and the related database then found itself being posted into the public domain via an online notice board last Thursday. Luckily no financial information was involved and the server has now been shut down.

Scott McClelland, Managing Director of Bluebox Broadband, said:

“At Bluebox we have always taken security very seriously and this incident is the first time anything like this has ever occurred in the 10 years since we began providing internet services. While no significant customer information has been exposed, we will be working with independent experts to learn lessons and take all steps necessary to prevent anything like this happening in the future.”

Apparently the data was not enough for it to be used as identity theft, although fraudsters may still be able to use it to target individuals with scams. Never the less the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been informed of the breach and the cyber-crime unit at the Police Service of Northern Ireland are also investigating.

The ISP further claims to have contacted all of those affected and apologised.