WAPO: Glitch on Verizon Wireless Web Site Left Data at Risk

[rumpel]

By Brian Krebs
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, August 12, 2005; Page D01

Verizon Wireless said yesterday that computer programming flaws in its online billing system could have allowed customers to view account information belonging to other customers, possibly exposing limited personal information about millions of people.

A spokesman for the Bedminster, N.J., company, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, declined to say how many of the company's 45 million subscriber accounts were at risk. Verizon Wireless said the problem appeared to be limited to accounts for customers in the eastern United States who had signed up for its "My Account" feature.

There was no indication that anyone took advantage of the flaws or that any customer financial information, such as Social Security or credit card account numbers, was disclosed, Verizon Wireless spokesman Tom Pica said. The flaws also did not allow access to phone numbers associated with customers' incoming and outgoing calls, and "no customer data could be manipulated and changed in any way," Pica said.

Verizon Wireless said it had corrected the problem as of 2 a.m. yesterday. Pica said the company was still assessing whether it would notify customers about the situation.

continued at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/11/AR2005081102122.htm