Vodafone claims its website wasn't hacked after all

MOBILE OPERATOR Vodafone is now claiming that its website wasn't hacked, despite having admitted yesterday that it didn't know how messages appeared on one of its blogs.

Yesterday Vodafone's "Meet the Winners" blog had to be taken offline while posts alleging that the firm had been evading taxes were removed. At the time Vodafone told The INQUIRER that it did not know how the posts appeared on its website.

Vodafone removed the posts and the blog was put back online with the firm releasing an official statement saying, "It's very sad to see how low people will go to further spread misinformation and for the charitable programme to be used as a platform for this kind of protest." Later Vodafone went on to say that news reports claiming that its website was hacked were incorrect.

In a separate statement, Vodafone said, "Following an investigation, and contrary to some online media reports, we can confirm that there was no hack of our World of Difference web site today. The posts which appeared on two World of Difference winners' blogs, were published as a result of an individual sharing log in details with a protest group, not as a result of a hack." It also repeated the line about how sad it was to see 'how low people will go' to spread misinformation.

Vodafone's findings echo what the campaign group UK Uncut had claimed at the time, that is, that it was simply offered login and password details by the winners themselves.

At press time Vodafone's Meet the Winners webpage seems to be free of allegations of tax evasion. µ