Virgin Media data blunder puts 3,000 at risk

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 24 Jun 2008 at 08:49

Virgin Media has admitted that one of its staff has lost a CD containing the unencrypted bank details of 3,000 customers.

While it is standard practice for the company to transport files via secure FTP, one member of staff went against this security precaution on 29 May to take a CD containing bank details, addresses and names of customers from one office to another. Unfortunately, it was lost in transit.

The member of staff is currently being "dealt with" according to a company spokesperson.

The company has notified the Information Commissioner's Office, and claims that accounts will be closely monitored for any fraudulent activity. The company is also offering affected customers one year of free credit card protection, including placement on a fraud watchlist.

"This is an isolated incident which has affected a small number of our customers. We have been working with the Information Commissioner's Office on this matter and we are in the process of contacting all of the affected customers to ensure we meet our responsibilities and fully support them through this process," says a statement released by the company.

The Information Commissioner's Office claimed earlier this year that it had 94 reports of data breaches in just six months, following the loss of 25 million citizen's records by HM Customs and Revenue last year in November.