T-Mobile confesses customer data breach

T-Mobile confessed this weekend that it has lost confidential data for 17 million of its German customers.

The data was stolen in 2006, and included telephone numbers, dates of birth and email addresses.

A statement from the company said a storage device containing the details is in the hands of unknown parties.

Research by T-Mobile has found that customers’ banking details are not included in the data, and there has not been a buyer for the information, even though it has been put up for sale on the black market.

The stolen details included secret addresses of politicians, celebrities and an ex-federal president.

German authorities have been working with T-Mobile to protect the lives of people that could be at threat because of the lost data.

A judicial enquiry is now investigating the matter.

T-Mobile customers in Germany are able to call a hotline if they are worried that their data has gone missing.