Dixons Carphone says cyber attack may have exposed customers’ data

Carphone Warehouse has fallen victim to a recent hack in its system, which has exposed customer information and credit card details.

The company said it has now implemented additional I.T. measures to prevent such attacks in the future, and that it has also recruited a cyber security firm to investigate how the breach took place.

A spokesman for the independent Information Commissioner’s Office, which examines data breaches, said: “We have been made aware of an incident at Carphone Warehouse and are making inquiries”. It also delivers a number of services to iD Mobile, TalkTalk Mobile and Talk Mobile.

Customer data for associated retailers and brands Currys, PC World, Dixons Travel, and KnowHow is held on separate systems, and was not accessed.

There is no word yet on the hackers’ identities or their method of attack, which Carphone Warehouse called “sophisticated”. Dixons Carphone, the JV parent of Carphone Warehouse, confirmed that details, including customers addresses, bank details, dates of birth are feared to be stolen.

The Carphone Warehouse data breach adds to the list of companies which suffered cyber-attacks targeting customers’ data over the past years, including giants like Sony, Target, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot and many others.

I swear, it’s nearly a rule in communications and PR to start out every security-related statement with “we take the security of our blah blah very seriously”.

Carphone Warehouse, which is owned by the FTSE 100 listed Dixons Carphone, discovered the breach on Wednesdayб but did not reveal details of the attack until Saturday. The company also informed its customers that they should contact Action Fraud, Britain’s national fraud and internet crime reporting center, at the first notion of any suspicious activity going on with their banking account or their credit card.