Information commissioner Christopher Graham revealed that phone company staff had allegedly sold “many thousands of customer account details”, notably contract renewal data, to competitors for “substantial amounts of money”.<\/p>\n
T-Mobile confirmed late Tuesday that it was the firm involved and had alerted Graham’s office when it discovered the alleged theft, which media reports said was the biggest breach of its kind in Britain.<\/p>\n
“T-Mobile takes the protection of customer information seriously,” a spokesman for the company said.<\/p>\n
“When it became apparent that contract renewal information was being passed on to third parties without our knowledge, we alerted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).<\/p>\n
“Working together, we identified the source of the breach, which led to the ICO conducting an extensive investigation which we believe we will lead to a prosecution.”<\/p>\n
Graham said the case underlined the need for tougher penalties for unlawful use of personal information, saying only a jail term is a sufficient deterrent.<\/p>\n
The ICO is responsible for protecting individuals’ data and promoting openness by public bodies.<\/p>\n
T-Mobile UK is the fourth largest mobile phone operator in Britain, with a 15-percent share of the market and nearly 17 million customers.<\/p>\n