Thousands in Vodafone data breach

Vodafone accidentally released data of tens of thousands of customers, due to a combination of technical and human error. The phone numbers have been included in phone books and databases of directory services. Numbers of customers who wanted their information published were not.

The mistake was already reported to the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in January, who monitors whether Vodafone accurately informs its customers. Where possible the phone numbers were removed from the electronic phone books and databases. Other cases are beyond the reach of Vodafone, since Call Centers retrieve their data from public phone records and the paper copies have already reached households. The company responsible for the distribution of the phone books, DTG, points out that some regions have already received new books that no longer include the private numbers.