Vodafone’s Germany-based business has been hacked and it is understood that 2m customers’ names, addresses, limited bank account information and dates of birth have been accessed. It is understood that an individual working for the company with insider knowledge of its internal systems is behind the breach.

The hacker failed to get his or her hands on mobile numbers, passwords and PINs.

The individual worked for an external service provider and hacked Vodafone’s servers to obtain the customers’ information.

It is understood that German law enforcement has searched the individual’s home.

The hack is believed to have occurred on 5 September.

Vodafone, which has operations in Ireland, Greece, Italy and Spain, said the breach only affected customers in Germany.

“Vodafone Germany has world-class security systems which are constantly updated and upgraded to block new emerging threats,” the company stated.

“However, this attack was highly complex and conducted with inside knowledge of our most secure internal systems.”

While it would have been difficult for the perpetrator to use the information to steal funds from customers, investigators believed it could have been harnessed to launch effective phishing attacks on customers.

Hacker image via Shutterstock