Two-Thirds Of Three UK Customers’ Data Compromised In Hack

Data breaches are becoming more common these days, and it doesn’t matter which country the company resides in. That’s the case with the latest breach, which reportedly happened to Three UK, the U.K. mobile network operator.

According to a report by TechCrunch, roughly two-thirds of Three UK’s customers have had their information compromised after hackers were able to get an employee login and access to the network. Three has around 8.8 million active customers and more than 4,000 employees.

Three confirmed the breach to The Telegraph. The company said the data accessed by the hacker(s) included names, phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth. It didn’t include any financial information, noted the report. Three said the hackers accessed customer accounts, upgraded them and intercepted new phones to likely sell in the black market.

The Telegraph noted Three said the National Crime Agency is looking into the hack and that three people were arrested. In a statement to The Telegraph, the National Crime Agency spokesman said: “On Wednesday 16 November 2016, officers from the National Crime Agency arrested a 48-year-old man from Orpington, Kent, and a 39-year-old man from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, on suspicion of computer misuse offenses and a 35-year-old man from Moston, Manchester, on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. All three have since been released on bail pending further enquiries. As investigations are ongoing, no further information will be provided at this time.”

Meanwhile, Three said in a statement that, during the last four weeks, it has seen an increasing level of attempted handset fraud. “This has been visible through higher levels of burglaries of retail stores and attempts to unlawfully intercept upgrade devices,” said Three. “We’ve been working closely with the police and relevant authorities. To date, we have confirmed approximately 400 high-value handsets have been stolen through burglaries, and eight devices have been illegally obtained through the upgrade activity.”