1.9m shoppers' data is hacked

HACKERS have stolen confidential data relating to almost two million online shoppers in France who made purchases via the French TV station website TF1.fr

The broadcaster says one of its third-party shopping tools, which gives TF1 viewers discounts on a range of magazine subscriptions, was compromised and the loophole has since been fixed.

Online security specialist Zataz.com says the attack happened on Friday night and the hackers had access to the personal data of 1.9 million customers. This includes names, postal addresses, emails and passwords.

The hackers also claim to have access to bank account details, but this has not yet been confirmed by TF1. If true, it increases the potential for identity theft.

TF1 says the part of the site that was compromised is run by a commercial partner, Viapresse, and the broadcaster's website itself was not targeted.

The link - which offers subscriptions to titles including Le Point and Time magazine - has been taken down as a preventative measure.

The TV group added that it was planning legal action against Viapresse for allowing sensitive business data to be compromised.

Any customers are advised to change their email account passwords as well as any other online services that use the same password.

If caught, the hackers face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €350,000.