Hacker steals data of 2 mln Vodafone Germany clients

Vodafone Germany said on Thursday that one of its servers was hacked and data of 2 million clients were stolen.

The perpetrator got access to clients' name, address, date of birth, gender and bank account number, the Dusseldorf-based mobile operator said in a statement, adding the hacker was not able to get clients' credit card information, password, PIN number, mobile phone number or data connection.

Only clients in Germany were affected, those concerned were being informed, said the company, Xinhua reported

Vodafone said it was hardly possible for perpetrator to "use stolen data to get direct access to bank accounts of those affected." Additional phishing attacks such as fake emails trying to get passwords and credit card information, however, were possible, it warned.

The attack was discovered and stopped immediately, and was reported to German supervisory and judicial authorities, said Vodafone. It believed that this attack was carried out by someone with "high criminal energy and insider knowledge."

A suspect has been identified by the investigators, said Vodafone, providing no further detailed information.