The National Lottery database seems to have been hacked, thereby breaching the user privacy rules. Around 26,500 people are expected to be affected if the fear of the firm turns true.
National Lottery operator Camelot said that he was sure it was not the company's systems that have betrayed them but some external sources that prompted the hack. He said that that the players' login details were hacked from somewhere else and not from the company's systems. The fear of the hacking of user profiles came following the detection of a "suspicious activity," while the online experts monitored the online security system on Monday.
Steps Being Taken to Resolve National Lottery Hacking Matter
Though the operator said that the accounts of thousands of players have been hacked, only around 50 of them have used their accounts after the incident. The Information Commissioner's Office, according to Sky News, has decided to investigate the hack and hence it has launched the process. The commission's spokesman confirmed a breach report being submitted by the National Lottery operator regarding the fear of the hack of user accounts.
"The Data Protection Act requires organisations to do all they can to keep personal data secure -- that includes protecting it from cyber attacks. Where we find this has not happened, we can take action," he added referring to National Lottery online hacking. "Organizations should be reminded that cyber security is a matter for the boardroom, not just the IT department."
A National Lottery spokeswoman said that the hacked accounts were proportionately small in number compared to about 9.5 million registered online players on the website. She confirmed that Camelot has been contacting the owners' accounts suspected t have been hacked. According to the BBC, Camelot has instructed the suspected users to change their passwords so that there is a minimal effect from the hack.
The National Lottery released a statement in which it confirmed that necessary steps are being taken to identify the issue. However, it is being believed that the details have been stolen from another website where the same login details of the players were used.