Hundreds of clients of Dutch telecomprovider KPN are still unable to use their e-mail accounts after servers at the company were hacked.

Unknown digital intruders stole personal data such as user names, home addresses, phone numbers and bank account numbers. A list with the names of 500 KPN users was posted on file sharing site Pastebin, presumably by the hackers.

As a precautionary measure KPN then disabled some 2 million accounts of private users, cutting them off from their e-mail and their personal webpages. On Saturday morning KPN announced that its clients' ability to send messages would be restored in the course of the day, but incoming mail would remain blocked for security reasons.

Competition watchdog Opta has said it will investigate whether KPN neglected its duty to take due care of its clients' interests. If KPN's measures to prevent data leaks prove insufficient Opta is entitled to fine the company.

Investigative reporter Brenno de Winter of online daily Webwereld reported on Thursday that KPN was using outdated equipment and failed to fully repair previous leaks. De Winter spoke to one of the hackers, who said that they were merely looking for leaks in order to expose them and alert KPN of the dangers.

(rk)

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