A hacker group, calling itself DIE Group, published a list of 10,000 hacked accounts of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications's Soc Trang branch. The state-owned corporation has ensured the safety and data of its customer accounts and are working with authorised agencies on the case. — Photo securitydaily.net

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) announced it has ensured the safety and data of 50,000 customer accounts in the southern province of Soc Trang.

Information stored in the accounts, such as phone numbers, addresses and number codes had been made public on the Internet by a Vietnamese hacker group, calling itself "DIE Group" on March 14.

VNPT Deputy General Director Pham Duc Long was quoted by technology site ICTnews as saying that hackers had attacked an old server of VNPT in Soc Trang to steal information related to the names of customers and the fee charged for phone calls and texts when VNPT had upgraded a variety of old servers at its branches in different provinces.

"We have identified that hackers stole the basic data of customers, such as passwords, names, and their fees, but have not taken any other specific details. VNPT is fixing the security hole now. The company has strengthened information safety across all networks to prevent similar cases so that customers feel assured about their personal data," he said.

VNPT is also working with authorised agencies on the case.

Ngo Tuan Anh, deputy director of the Bkav company's cyber security division, said although the list of VNPT customers has not been leaked on a large scale, investigation agencies should resolve the problem soon, preventing the hackers from using the information for bad purposes.

Earlier, on March 14, the group of hackers had published a list of 10,000 accounts of mobile phones and fixed line customers of VNPT on its Facebook page. However, the local website of Security Daily had said the number of accounts from which information was stolen might touch 50,000. — VNS