Posted: 22nd Feb, 2003 By: MarkJ
Global ISP AOL (America Online) is investigating reports that hackers have managed to access their customer database:
The allegation of an extremely serious security breach is published today in Wired. The publication interviewed hackers who claim to have gained full access to Merlin, AOL's latest intranet-based customer database application. If true, the breach potentially exposes the private information of AOL's 35 million users.
An AOL spokesman told us it was investigating the allegations of security breaches documented by Wired.
He said: "We take any attempt to compromise a member's personal information extremely seriously. Such actions are illegal, and we will work with law enforcement to prosecute whenever possible. We are currently investigating the specific allegations."The Register notes some of the doubts it has about the method described, although it remains to be seen whether the database has indeed been hacked.