Data theft puts large Spanish companies in check. After “unauthorized access” to a Banco Santander database 14 days ago, Telefónica now faces a potential leak of information on more than 120,000 customers. According to publications in specialized forums, the telecommunications giant suffered a cyberattack in March of this year that allowed criminals to access more than 2 million records of the company’s clients and collaborators.
Official Telefónica sources indicate that the company is investigating the legitimacy of the information that this actor claims to have on the internet. Other sources in the sector indicate that everything has originated from messages on the Internet from users who say they have accessed a series of company data. This access would have taken place in the month of March, which rules out that the cyberattack could be taking place now.
In any case, Telefónica is investigating whether there has been any breach in the security systems, both its own and those of others. However, it would not be sensitive user data such as passwords or bank accounts, the aforementioned sources insist.
According to the information known this morning, the attacked database would contain basic consumer information, ranging from their address to their email. The intention of cybercriminals is to sell the information to other potential interested parties, although without specifying a particular price.
Hackmanac, a portal specialized in cyberattacks, recommends customers to be “careful against possible identity theft attempts.” The main recommendation of experts in these cases is to always corroborate the veracity of any message received. If in doubt, the suggestion is to avoid accessing links that request personal information, especially bank or credit card information.
Previous opportunities
In its 2023 annual accounts, Telefónica has highlighted that “there were no relevant security incidents” or events “with sufficient impact to be communicated to the financial market control authorities.” The company specifies that it has 17 incident response centers, from where it can respond to breaches and minimize the consequences of cyber threats.
In 2022, the company made public that cybercriminals had obtained the router configuration data of an undetermined number of Movistar and O2 customers. Although no sensitive information was found among the data, Telefónica asked its customers to update their password. access to fiber service.
Much greater was the ‘hack’ suffered in 2017, when the telecom suffered an attack that prevented access to certain parts of its internal system and that caught the company by surprise. The specialists highlighted that it was a “global attack”, which affected the telecom’s operations in more than 100 countries.
Follow all the information Five days in Facebook, x and Linkedinor in our newsletter Five Day Agenda
Newsletters
Sign up to receive exclusive economic information and the financial news most relevant to you
#Telefónica #alert #due #data #leak #customers #employees