ICO fines T-Mobile workers for data theft

UK DATA PROTECTION ENFORCER the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has fined two ex T-Mobile employees for having stolen customer data for financial gain.

In a statement the ICO said that the two former employees picked 'select customer data' in 2008 and have been fined for their actions.

The two workers, David Turley and Darren Hames, were ordered to pay a total of £73,700 in fines and confiscation costs and, it added, failure to do so could result in prison time.

Both men pleaded guilty to offences under Section 55 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) in 2010, following an investigation by the ICO that started when T-Mobile noticed that something was awry in 2008.

"Today's hearing marks the final chapter in an investigation that has exposed the criminals behind a mass illegal trade in lucrative mobile phone contract information. It also marks a new chapter of effective deterrents on data crime where the courts will act to recover the ill-gotten gains," said information commissioner Christopher Graham as he announced the sentences.

"Those who have regular access to thousands of customer details may think that attempts to use it for personal gain will go undetected. But this case shows that there is always an audit trail and my office will do everything in its power to uncover it. The lifestyle the pair gained from their criminal activities has been short lived and I hope this case serves as a strong deterrent to others."

This is the first time that the ICO has called on the Proceeds of Crime Act to claw back some of the proceeds of crime. Some of these proceeds will go towards training its own staff, it explained, while the remainder presumably will go to T-Mobile.

The ICO infamously fined ACS:Law chief Andrew Crossley a paltry £1,000 after his firm revealed personal information in the wake of a hacking attack. µ