Dixons Carphone data attack hit 16m records, far higher than first thought

Dixons Carphone has said a massive data breach affected close to 16 million data records, including bank details and personal data, far higher than first reported.

The retailer revealed that 5.9 million customer bank card details and 10 million personal data records were hacked in an attack over several months in the second half of 2017.

Originally, Dixons Carphone said 1.2 million personal data records, which include customers' names, emails and addresses, were impacted.

The company said in a statement: "Our investigation, which is now nearing completion, has identified that approximately 10 million records containing personal data may have been accessed in 2017.

"While there is now evidence that some of this data may have left our systems, these records do not contain payment card or bank account details and there is no evidence that any fraud has resulted. We are continuing to keep the relevant authorities updated.

"As a precaution, we are choosing to communicate to all of our customers to apologise and advise them of protective steps to minimise the risk of fraud.

"As we indicated previously, we have taken action to close off this access and have no evidence it is continuing."

Dixons, the retailer behind Currys, has said 5.8 million of the payment cards targeted were protected by chip and pin, but around 105,000 non-EU cards without chip and pin protection were compromised.

The firm is nearing the end of its investigation, aided by third-party cyber security experts.

The cyber attack is also the subject of a further investigation, with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) all taking an interest.

An ICO spokesman said: "Our investigation into the incident is ongoing and we will take time to assess this new information.

"In the meantime, we would expect the company to alert all those affected in the UK as soon as possible and to take all steps necessary to reduce any potential harm to consumers."

It is understood that Dixons has found evidence of hacking activity from July 2017 onwards, but the company has not detailed exact dates.

Dixons Carphone said the relevant card companies had been notified, but there was no evidence of fraud on the cards as a result of the incident.

Chief executive Alex Baldock said on Tuesday: "Since our data security review uncovered last year's breach, we've been working around the clock to put it right.

"That's included closing off the unauthorised access, adding new security measures and launching an immediate investigation, which has allowed us to build a fuller understanding of the incident that we're updating on today.

"As a precaution, we're now also contacting all our customers to apologise and advise on the steps they can take to protect themselves.

"Again, we're disappointed in having fallen short here, and very sorry for any distress we've caused our customers.

"I want to assure them that we remain fully committed to making their personal data safe with us."