The Silicon Review ^Asia

The leading telecom operator of Singapore, Singtel, has said that personal information of 129,000 customers was extracted by hackers in a data breach. The company said that the hackers targeted a third-party file-sharing system used by the telco for breach.

Singtel said that the initial investigations revealed that information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, identification numbers and dates of birth were stolen in the attack. The hackers also stole the bank account details of 28 company employees. The company's files on Accellion file transfer appliance (FTA) were accessed illegally. The attack targeted the FTA and exploited a previously unknown vulnerability.

"I'm very sorry this has happened to our customers and I apologise unreservedly to everyone impacted. Data privacy is paramount, we have disappointed our stakeholders and not met the standards we have set for ourselves," said Singtel Group's CEO Yuen Kuan Moon. He further said that the company was being as transparent as possible, considering the complexity and sensitivity of its investigations. The company's core operations and functions remain unaffected.

In the data breach, information from 23 enterprises, including suppliers, partners, and corporate customers, was also stolen. Singtel is currently in the process of notifying all those who are affected by the breach.