Spain’s Telefonica probes suspected data breach

MADRID: Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica said on Tuesday it had opened a probe into a suspected data breach that may have exposed the personal information of millions of customers of its Movistar subsidiary, primarily in Peru.

The company is analysing a sample of one million records released on Monday by the alleged hackers behind the intrusion, a company spokeswoman told AFP.

“We are investigating a potential security breach,” she said.

Preliminary findings indicate that the data sample likely relates to Movistar customers in Peru, she said.

The breach was first disclosed on Monday evening by cybersecurity firm HackManac, which said a hacker known as “Dedale” had claimed responsibility.

The stolen data includes full names, national ID numbers and mobile phone numbers, according to HackManac, which tracks cyberattacks around the world.

The hackers claim to have accessed as many as 22 million records, though the number of individuals affected is unclear, as a single customer may have multiple files.

To back the claim, a sample of one million records was shared online, the firm said.

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Telefonica, which has been scaling back operations in Latin America due to high debt and intense competition, sold its heavily indebted Peruvian subsidiary to Integra Tec International in April for a symbolic sum of one million euros.

The Madrid-based company is currently focusing on its core markets — Spain, Germany, Britain and Brazil — as part of a strategic shift aimed at stabilising its balance sheet.