Netia SA., a Polish telecom operator, has just suffered a massive data breach. During an attack, hackers gained access to 14 gigabytes of customer data, and kept the website down for a good portion of the day. Now, Netia is in recovery mode.

According to SC Magazine UK, Netia provides TV, Internet, and mobile telephony services, with a fibre network of around 14,000 kilometers (nearly 8700 miles). During the incident, hackers gained access to the personal data that customers provided through forms on the Netia website.

The details of the hack have not been disclosed, so all that Netia is saying is that “personal data” was stolen. Apparently, the breach was committed by the Ukranian Right Sector party, as a Twitter account stating to be associated with it is has claimed responsibility.

However, passwords and login information for the NetiaOnline web portal are still safe. Customers will not have to change their passwords on the Netia website, although the information stolen may prove troublesome somewhere down the line.

Following the breach, Netia has begun working with a team of IT experts, who are advising the company on further security methods and performing a forensic investigation.

The sad part is that the data could have been protected, had Netia encrypted the data from the web forms. Although information sent online through other methods gets encrypted, web forms rarely are. Plain text files are much easier to steal, and web forms can still contain vital personal information. When the information is not properly encrypted and protected, this is what happens.

Photo by The Preiser Project