VOIP provider spills 21,000 customer details

This is an incident that shows how people and simple process breaks/mistakes can cause a serious security incident and seriously dent your brand image.

Internet telephony provider Packet8 has accidentally disclosed the email addresses of 21,000 of its subscribers. The VoIP provider has more than 73,000 subscribers. The data leak occurred when an employee accidentally attached a spreadsheet containing the email addresses to the monthly Packet8 email newsletter sent last Thursday.

The firm sent an email to customers on Friday apologising for the data disclosure. Packet8 customers are likely to become the target for spamming and phishing attacks if criminals get hold of the list. Knowing that the addresses on the list are all Packet8 customers, phishers could send emails that appear to come from Packet8. The email could then fool them into disclosing confidential information by asking them to re-enter credit card information or log-in name and password.