Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2011. It reports news from that month, and “today” refers to the original publication date. The figure of 20,000 affected users was an initial estimate at the time.
Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías de la Comunicación (National Institute of Communication Technologies, INTECO) has reported that it suffered a data theft today that could initially affect 20,000 users.
The first and last names, national ID (DNI) numbers, phone numbers and email addresses of these users are now in the hands of people who could use them for a range of malicious purposes. The irony is that INTECO was considered the benchmark website for online trust, and it has been hacked.
Stealing the data wasn’t enough for the attackers: they also left a statement supporting the 15-M movement.
INTECO has issued a statement for people registered on its platform, setting out some basic security guidelines for anyone who may be affected:
- Don’t give out any personal information or passwords if you get a phone call claiming to be from INTECO.
- Don’t click links in emails or MMS messages if you aren’t completely sure the sender can be trusted.
- Keep your computer fully protected with the recommended security patches.
- If you have any doubts, contact INTECO at [email protected]
Further reading
Featured image: Rodelar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
