Police are investigating after a “significant and sustained cyber-attack” on the TalkTalk website, the UK company has confirmed.
The phone and broadband provider, which has over 4 million customers in the UK, said credit card and bank details could have been a accessed. A statement on its home page reads “Our website came under a significant and sustained cyber-attack on Wednesday 21st October. We’ve created a guide with more information about what’s happened.”
The Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit is investigating the attack, which happened on Wednesday. It is the second time the company has been targeted by hackers this year.
Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk’s managing director said in a statement that a criminal investigation was launched on Thursday and was ongoing but there was a chance that names, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses and bank details had been accessed.
“We are very sorry to tell you that on Thursday 22nd October a criminal investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit following a significant and sustained cyberattack on our website on Wednesday 21st October. The investigation is ongoing, but unfortunately there is a chance that some of the following data may have been accessed:
- Names
- Addresss
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Telephone numbers
- TalkTalk account information
- Credit card details and/or bank details
We are continuing to work with leading cyber crime specialists and the Metropolitan Police to establish exactly what happened and the extent of any information accessed.
We would like to reassure you that we take any threat to the security of our customers’ data very seriously. We constantly review and update our systems to make sure they are as secure as possible and we’re taking all the necessary steps to understand this incident and to protect as best we can against similar attacks in future. Unfortunately cyber criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and attacks against companies which do business online are becoming more frequent.
What we are doing
- We are contacting all our customers straight away to let them know what has happened and we will keep you up to date as we learn more
- We have taken all necessary measures to secure our website following the attack
- Together with cybercrime experts, the security services and the police, we’re continuing to complete a thorough investigation
- We’ve contacted the major banks, and they will be monitoring for any suspicious activity on our customers’ accounts
- We have contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office
What you can do
- Keep an eye on your accounts over the next few months. If you see anything unusual, please contact your bank and Action Fraud UK as soon as possible. Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, and they can be reached on 0300 123 2040or via actionfraud.police.uk
- If you are contacted by anyone asking you for personal data or passwords (such as for your bank account), please take all steps to check the true identity of the organisation.
- Check your credit report with the three main credit agencies: Call Credit, Experian and Equifax
Important notice
Please be aware, TalkTalk will NEVER call customers and ask you to provide bank details unless we have already had specific permission from you to do so.
TalkTalk will also NEVER
- Ask for your bank details to process a refund. If you are ever due a refund from us, we would only be able to process this if your bank details are already registered on our systems.
- Call you and ask you to download software onto your computer, unless you have previously contacted TalkTalk, discussed and agreed a call back for this to take place.
- Send you emails asking you to provide your full password. We will only ever ask for two digits from it to protect your security.
We understand this will be concerning and frustrating, and we want to reassure you that we are continuing to take every action possible to keep your information safe.
Tristia Harrison
Managing Director (Consumer)
TalkTalk
22nd October 2015”