Hacking group begins leaking customer data in Dutch telecom Odido hack
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Cyber Attack" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AMSTERDAM, Feb 26 : The criminal group behind a hack at Dutch telecom Odido, one of the largest carried out in the Netherlands, has begun publishing customer information on the dark web, the company said on Thursday.
The theft of personal data of 6 million customers from the firm, T-Mobile's former Dutch operations, included names, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, bank account numbers, birth dates and passport numbers. Odido said it believes the claim of the group "ShinyHunters" that it carried out the hack.
"Odido came to the decision not to engage in negotiations with these criminals or submit to their attempts at blackmail," the company said in a statement, saying it had taken advice from cybersecurity firms and the police.
National broadcaster NOS, which has communicated with the hacking group, reported on Thursday that it has threatened to publish a million lines worth of customer data per day unless the company pays an unspecified amount.
"Our advice to victims of ransomware is not to pay," Stan Duijf of the country's national police, which is investigating the hack, said in a statement.
He said paying the ransom could finance future attacks on new victims, and there was no guarantee thieves would follow through on promises to delete sensitive data.
