IRISH BOOKMAKER PADDY Power has faced further criticism over a breach of data that occurred in October 2010.
Minister for European Affairs and Data Protection Dara Murphy has hit out at the bookmakers for the delay in informing its customers. Speaking yesterday, the Minister said: “I am very disappointed that it has taken until now for Paddy Power to inform its customers.”
The breach of data involved personal information of approximately 649,000 customers. The Data Protection Commissioner was informed of security lapse on 12 May when information came to light over access a person in Canada may have had to Paddy Power’s database.
On the action being taken by Paddy Power, Murphy said:
Paddy Power put in place increased security measures after the breach in 2010 and I have been in touch with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, which met with Paddy Power this week.
“It is best practice to inform the Commissioner as soon as these breaches occur, and although these were not breaches of password or financial information, the data security breach Code of Practice should be followed at all times.”
The company began contacting customers in connection with the incident this week. The information breach did not include customers’ financial information or passwords.
One the incident, the company issued a statement that:
Paddy Power takes its responsibilities regarding customer data extremely seriously and it is deeply regrettable that this breach happened.
The company said that “Paddy Power’s account monitoring has not detected any suspicious activity to indicate that customers’ accounts have been adversely impacted in any way”.
The customer information compromised in the company’s historical data set included customers name, username, address, email address, phone number, date of birth and prompted question and answer.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say