Spammers Possibly Breached BT-owned Email Provider

Plusnet denies that customer data has been compromised by fraudsters.

One tipster told the Register:

On 14th November a number of Plusnet customers started receiving marketing emails from a US company on email addresses they have given to Plusnet for billing purposes.

These customers say they have never given these email addresses to anyone else and are not receiving the same marketing messages to any other email address.

The only apparent conclusion is someone has obtained the billing email addresses of Plusnet customers.

Despite a 14-page-long discussion thread on the telecommunication company’s support forum, Plusnet has refused to accept responsibility for the spam assault.

The ISP posted this official response to customers on the forum:

Plusnet has conducted a thorough investigation into this issue. Our investigations confirm that Plusnet’s Core Systems and Networks, including our subscriber and billing databases, have been verified and we are comfortable there has been no compromise.

Plusnet takes its obligations regarding our customer data very seriously – we ensure we comply with the guidance of the data protection regulator as well as the requirements of the Data Protection Act. All companies that Plusnet work with are required to ensure data is processed securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Plusnet will continue to monitor its security controls to ensure all data, including customer data, is protected. If we have any further updates on this we will of course let you know.

However, despite being approached by The Register, the company hasn’t provided comment. A company spokeswoman said that Plusnet was "looking into this as a matter of priority."