TapTechNews June 3rd, according to a report in The Guardian (UK), detailed information of over 25,000 current and former BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) employees was exposed due to a data breach, and the BBC has launched an investigation.
The company's pension scheme wrote to members last Wednesday local time, saying their details were stolen in a data security incident and that the company is treating this matter extremely seriously. A spokesperson for the pension scheme said that the detailed information of approximately 25,290 people was affected.
The BBC said it has found no evidence suggesting that the incident is a ransomware attack. TapTechNews has learned that the BBC has one of the largest occupational pension schemes in the UK, with over 50,000 members.
In an email sent to those affected, the pension scheme did not explain how the leak occurred, only saying that private records were copied from an online data storage service. The leaked data includes members' names, dates of birth and sexes, home addresses, National Insurance numbers, and information indicating that they are members of the BBC pension scheme.
The pension scheme said that this leak does not include any banking details, financial information, phone numbers, email addresses, usernames or passwords, or any sensitive health information.
The incident has been reported to the UK privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and the Pensions Regulator. Catherine Claydon, chair of the BBC Pension Trust, said in an email: We are treating this incident extremely seriously and want to assure you that we and the BBC have taken immediate steps to assess and contain this event.
The BBC also said that currently, there is no evidence that private information has been misused, but it is monitoring this. It advises members to remain vigilant about any activity that seems unusual.