Bell Canada says the recent data breach on its customer data system was not connected to the recent global WannaCry malware attacks.
The WannaCry malware spreads as a worm by scanning other computers linked to any machine or system it infects for the same defect and jumping onto them. It achieves this through a vulnerability in Microsoft systems, particularly on outdated software like Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.
In Bell Canada’s case, the attack on its customer data systems included 1.9 million active email addresses and about 1,700 customer names and phone numbers.
RELATED: Bell Canada invests $637M to bring FTTP services to 1.1M homes, businesses
The service provider said there’s no indication that any financial, password or other sensitive personal information was accessed.
“We apologize to Bell customers for this situation and are contacting those affected directly,” Bell Canada said in statement.
Bell Canada took immediate steps to secure affected systems. The company has been working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police cybercrime unit in its investigation and has informed the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Concerns over the WannaCry malware issue and cyberattacks are growing. As these attacks increase in sophistication, large service providers like Bell Canada and their customers are becoming a bigger target for hackers.