Insider steals data on 2 million Vodafone clients

9/12/2013

BERLIN  — Cellphone and broadband provider Vodafone Deutschland says it was the target of a large-scale data theft affecting the personal details of 2 million German customers.

Spokesman Alexander Leinhos says the attack was conducted by an unidentified IT systems administrator who worked for a company contracted by Vodafone.

Vodafone said in a statement today that the stolen data included customers’ names, addresses, date of birth and bank details.

Credit card information and passwords weren’t stolen.

Vodafone said it regretted the incident and warned its customers to be on guard against unsolicited phone calls or emails from people seeking to exploit the stolen data.

The company has more than 32 million cellphone customers and more than 3 million broadband subscribers in Germany.

It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc.

Separately, Canadian cellphone company Rogers Communications has announced it has hired Guy Laurence, the chief executive of Vodafone’s U.K. division, as its new president and CEO.