In what is being described as the biggest breach of personal data protection laws, sensitive customer data has been leaked out of T-Mobile database to outsiders. Following this, the information commissioner has said that stringent laws are required to deter unscrupulous persons from carrying out such activities.

The Information Commissioners’ Office is the authority that protects the interests and privacy of companies with respect to personal and sensitive data. This office received intimation of some illegal activity within the industry a while back. However, the exact source of the leak could not be identified. Subsequent questioning of top mobile providers revealed that O2, Virgin and Vodafone were not involved.

Following the investigations, T-Mobile came forward with the startling admission that it was the source of the leak of customer data. However, the company claimed that these activities had been going on without its complicity.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is ready to prosecute the guilty persons within the company, and investigations have shown that they have been selling sensitive information like contract expiry dates to outsiders to enable competitors to poach customers.

Information commissioner Christopher Graham said that the current legal provision for a fine of £5,000 is far too mild a punishment for this crime. He said that strong penalties and even imprisonment could be included in the law as a means to prevent and discourage any such crime. Graham confirmed that a case is being prepared for prosecution in this incident, and assured that he would ensure that adequate punishment is meted out to the guilty parties.

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