Customers from at least six more companies affected by Loyaltybuild data breach

15 Nov 2013

Image via Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock

The fallout from a data breach at Co Clare-based Loyaltybuild continues with Clerys, Centra, Pigsback, Postbank Ireland, Unislim Northern Ireland and TOG Orthotics now added to the list of those affected by the cyberattack.

Loyaltybuild’s database was reportedly hacked in mid-October and the breach discovered on 25 October. Personal and financial details of more than1m people across Europe are said to have been compromised, including thousands of customers of SuperValu, AXA and ESB.

The numbers affected by the latest round of revelations are reportedly on a much smaller scale. For example, 68 Centra customers who collected vouchers for city breaks across Europe (a scheme dating back to 2006) have been affected.

The compromised data from customers of Centra, Pigsback, Postbank Ireland and Ennis-based TOG is said to be non-financial information. However, these customers should still be vigilant of unsolicited communication from these services, which may be part of a phishing scam.

Credit-card information and personal contact details of customers of Clery’s loyalty travel scheme have also been compromised, as well as that of customers of Unislim Northern Ireland. Around 50 Stena Line customers in Northern Ireland were also previously reported to have been compromised, and this is now said to include financial information.

Both the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and An Garda Síochána are investigating the breach and Loyaltybuild has ceased taking bookings for its travel loyalty schemes as this goes on.

A number of banks are also examining the accounts of those people whose credit-card details were stolen and two – Permanent TSB and AIB – have discovered possible fraudulent activity. However, neither bank has confirmed this suspicious activity is a direct result of the data breach.

Meanwhile, the Irish Payments Services Organisation (IPSO) has reassured customers that any unauthorised purchases will be reimbursed. The organisation also claims 26,000 of the debit cards compromised had already expired.

Data breach image by Maksim Kabakou via Shutterstock

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com