Dixons Carphone customer data breach much larger than feared

Dixons Carphone revealed on Tuesday that about 10m records containing personal data may have been accessed in a data breach last year, up from its original estimate of 1.2m customers.

After discovering the hack, Dixons opened an investigation which is nearing completion where it identified that approximately 10m records could have been accessed in 2017. The firm assured that there are no signs of fraud.

The company apologised to its clients and said it was “sorry for any distress caused”.

The Dixons discovered the hack in June 2018 and has been putting further security measures in place and has increased its investment in cyber security.

The company has also given advice to its customers to follow a number of protective steps to minimise the risk of fraud.

Chief executive Alex Baldock said: "Since our data security review uncovered last year's breach, we've been working around the clock to put it right. That's included closing off the unauthorised access, adding new security measures and launching an immediate investigation, which has allowed us to build a fuller understanding of the incident that we're updating on today.”

“Again, we're disappointed in having fallen short here, and very sorry for any distress we've caused our customers. I want to assure them that we remain fully committed to making their personal data safe with us,” he added.