Reuters

BANGKOK: Myanmar civil society groups said on Tuesday they are suing the Norwegian telecoms giant Telenor, alleging it shared customer data with the Southeast Asian nation&rsquo;s ruling military that allowed the junta to track, imprison and kill civilians. The firm, which is majority-owned by the Norwegian government, sold its business in Myanmar after the 2021 military coup that unseated an elected government, to avoid European Union sanctions after pressure from the junta to activate intercept surveillance technology. The claimants allege Telenor, which was one of the largest foreign investors in the Southeast Asian nation, handed over data from some of its 18 million customers to comply with requests from the military before selling to a new majority-owner with a history of business ties to the military. Telenor said in a statement to Reuters that it did not see anything in the legal notice that had not already been addressed including in previous police and court investigations in Norway. It said the company found itself in a &quot;terrible and tragic situation&quot; in Myanmar with &quot;no good options&quot; as disobeying orders from the junta would have &quot;been perceived as terrorism and sabotage, and would have put employees in direct danger.&quot; &quot;Like all operators in any country, Telenor Myanmar was legally required to provide traffic data to the authorities,&quot; the company said. Joseph Wilde-Ramsing of the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), a nonprofit organisation working with the civil society groups, said the data handed over included &quot;call logs and location data that could be used to track down the junta&#39;s political opponents and their family members&quot;. In a statement, the groups said they had sent a pre-action letter to Telenor, the first step in bringing a lawsuit, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. They said the sale of Telenor to majority-owner Shwe Byain Phyu in March 2022 effectively granted the military &quot;unfettered access&quot; to customer data. Shwe Byain Phyu did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did Myanmar&rsquo;s military government. LAWMAKER EXECUTEDMyanmar has been in crisis since the coup and ensuing military crackdown on protests, which sparked a nationwide armed rebellion. The junta has killed almost 7,000 people and arrested close to 30,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nonprofit monitoring group. The military denies accusations it has targeted civilians and says it is fighting &quot;terrorists&quot;. The civil society groups bringing the lawsuit, Defend Myanmar Democracy and the Myanmar Internet Project, said several people were arbitrarily detained and tortured in custody after their Telenor data was shared and at least one person was killed. Phoe Zeya Thaw, a popular hip hop artist and lawmaker, was executed alongside three other activists accused of helping carry out &quot;terror acts&quot; in 2022, prompting an international outcry. The lawmaker&rsquo;s wife, Tha Zin, who is among the claimants, said in the statement she was &ldquo;terribly disturbed and shocked&rdquo; by Telenor&rsquo;s link to his arrest, which she said came a few weeks after the firm passed data from his cell phone to the military. The statement did not cite specific evidence but a lawyer at Simonsen Vogt Wiig, the firm representing the groups, said the decision to hand over data went &quot;all the way to the top&quot; of Telenor. Ko Ye, another claimant in the lawsuit, told Reuters many Myanmar people chose to use Telenor&#39;s network because they believed it was the safest option due to its international connections. &quot;Those corporations they have to respect our rights. Our data is part of our rights, they cannot do whatever they want,&quot; he said.

Business

Myanmar civil society groups are suing Norway’s Telenor, alleging it shared customer data with the military, enabling arrests and killings after the 2021 coup. Telenor denies wrongdoing, citing legal obligations and threats to employee safety.

Myanmar groups to sue Telenor over data sharing with junta

Web Desk

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LONDON: Luxury British department store Harrods has confirmed that customer details were compromised in a recent data breach, the latest in a series of cyberattacks targeting major British companies this year. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The company said late Friday that some names and contact details of its online customers were taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;The third party has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities,&quot; a Harrods spokesperson said. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cybersecurity incidents have disrupted several UK sectors in recent months, with experts warning of increasingly advanced tactics used by criminal groups. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In July, police arrested four people suspected of involvement in coordinated cyberattacks against Harrods, Marks &amp; Spencer (M&amp;S), and the Co-operative Group.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M&amp;S previously endured a major incident in April that forced its online store offline for nearly seven weeks. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harrods stressed that this breach is not related to a separate event in May, when the retailer temporarily restricted internet access across its systems after detecting an attempted intrusion. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other British businesses have also been hit. In August, Jaguar Land Rover&rsquo;s global production lines were suspended following a cyberattack attributed to another group of hackers. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, cautioned that such attacks have consequences far beyond technical disruptions. &ldquo;These incidents may sound abstract, but they impact people directly. Attackers are constantly improving their methods to maximize the damage,&rdquo; he told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday.

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Luxury British department store Harrods has confirmed that customer details were compromised in a recent data breach, the latest in a series of cyberattacks targeting major British companies this year.

Harrods warns customers of data breach after third-party system compromised

<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said in a September 9 post on X that it does not hold subscribers&rsquo; data after blocking 1,372 websites, apps and social media pages trading personal information.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;Subscribers&rsquo; data remains solely with licensed telecom operators,&rdquo; the PTA said in a statement.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">They added that &ldquo;an initial review indicated the leaked datasets contained family details, travel records, vehicle registrations, and CNIC copies, suggesting that the data was aggregated from multiple external sources, rather than telecom operators.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1965409999057748182&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=374227bbfb47cc7875cf1710ca27e8f36a375704&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>NCCIA conducts probe<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The clarification followed media reports about alleged data leaks and came as the Ministry of Interior, the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency and a Joint Task Force on Unauthorised Data Access and Pilferage expanded inquiries, directing the National Technology and Information Security Board to audit telecom operators under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The initial probe by the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency suggested the alleged breach could have exposed sensitive records that might enable sophisticated fraud.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Officials noted a listing on the dark web that advertised data of 3.2 million International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) records allegedly linked to users in Pakistan, as reported by newspaper Dawn.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The statement came after Amnesty International claimed in a report released Tuesday that Pakistan operates extensive surveillance systems capable of monitoring millions of mobile phones and filtering internet traffic, Reuters reported.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The rights watchdog said the network, which it linked to both Chinese and Western suppliers, can tap at least 4 million phones and block up to 2 million internet sessions at once. The report drew on court documents and technical files, noting that Pakistani authorities have denied in court having the capacity for such phone tapping.No breaches found within licensed entities&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The telecom regulator rejected suggestions that the data originated from mobile companies or fixed-line internet providers and referred to a recent sector-wide cybersecurity audit completed about two weeks ago, saying no breaches were found within licensed entities.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&quot;Telenor Pakistan ranked first among mobile operators, while Nayatel led fixed-line operators in terms of cybersecurity,&rdquo; the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said, citing its recent audit.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The authority added that it conducts annual cybersecurity audits of all licensees through third-party consultants and continues enforcement against platforms trading in personal data.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Telecom Operators Association Vice Chairman Wahaj Siraj said defending against hackers is a constant challenge. &ldquo;Combating cybercrime is an ongoing challenge, and hackers could potentially strike any company or sector, though Pakistan&rsquo;s telecom and internet infrastructure are secure,&rdquo; he said.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Siraj added that while PTA conducts annual cybersecurity audits through third-party consultants, &ldquo;authorities should also ensure similar audits are performed across all relevant sectors.&rdquo;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Authorities said the investigation is continuing to assess the scale of any exposure and potential risks to citizens&rsquo; digital security.

Security

PTA denies role in data leaks after blocking 1,372 sites; Amnesty cites mass surveillance, as Pakistan probes dark web listings of sensitive records.

Articles tagged with "Data Breach"

Myanmar groups to sue Telenor over data sharing with junta

Harrods warns customers of data breach after third-party system compromised

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority denies claims of data breach