Data theft
October 18, 2009
SchuelerVZ, an online forum for German teenagers and high school students, has said it has identified the person it suspects of stealing the data, which include the name, age, school, gender, and photo of thousands of users.
"We have taken immediate action to prevent another incident like this one from occurring," an unnamed spokesperson for the site's parent company, VZ, said.
"We have found the person we believe is responsible for the theft, and we are investigating to whom the data was released. At the moment, the suspect is unwilling to tell us to whom he released the data," the spokesperson added.
SchuelerVZ went on to say that especially protected data – such as email addresses, telephone numbers, photo albums, usernames, and passwords – were not part of the stolen data.
AWD – a second, more serious run-in with data theft
Meanwhile, the names, client numbers, addresses, and telephone numbers of tens of thousands of clients of the German financial service provider AWD were hacked into and released on the internet, according to German public broadcaster NDR.
In addition to those protected data, contract details including client insurance policies and investments were part of the stolen data.
AWD, however, said most of the stolen information was outdated. It said the most recent details were from the year 2001, with most of the data coming from the mid 90s.
"No sensitive data was taken here, that is no data that is considered sensitive under data-protection laws. In particular, there were no bank account numbers taken," said an unnamed spokesperson.
This is not the first time AWD has had to deal with data theft. In 2007, the company reported that protected data of several of its trade representatives were stolen and released on the internet. Investigations were suspended, however, after the authorities failed to find any suspects.
Like in that case, AWD has opened an investigation with the local Hanover authorities. In addition, an internal workgroup has been commissioned to help with the investigation.
The company said on Sunday that it had already notified the clients whose data had been stolen.
glb/AP/Reuters
Editor: Ranty Islam