Parkbytext to reveal whether personal data affected by potential breach

Customers affected by the Parkbytext potential data breach have yet to be told whether any of their personal information was compromised during the outage.

The mobile parking operator experienced a service outage last Friday which was later resolved.

Motorists who use the parkbytext mobile and online service were informed by email earlier this week that information including “account details for car registration, mobile number, email, and proof of address and licence” may have been breached during the outage when “a potentially malicious software” entered the server.

The company noted that while certain information may have been compromised by the breach, account passwords and credit/debit card information were protected by encryption.

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Parkbytext has been carrying out an investigation into the potential breach and says it will update customers after a report is released on Friday.

Sensitivity

Asked whether Dublin City Council’s Parking Tag system had suffered any similar breaches, a spokeswoman said no malicious software had entered the server.

She said the council was acutely aware of the sensitivity of personal data and treat all information with “the highest levels of security” using anti-virus malware protection, strong network controls, regular vulnerability scans, penetration tests and secure coding standards .

A spokeswoman for the Data Protection Commissioner said Parkbytext had notified the office of the potential breach in line with the commissioner’s code of conduct and that an investigation was ongoing.

The commissioner’s office said Parkbytext was obliged to keep personal data safe and secure and to communicate with customers when that security has been compromised.

“In the event that a breach of personal data is established, customers retain the right to raise a complaint with the DPC in respect of their own personal data.”

The Central Bank of Ireland warned that firms should take extra measures to protect the personal data of their customers given the rise in incidences of cyber-attacks and business interruptions.