According to reports, computer hackers have been trying to steal Orange customers' details by accessing the network's dealer Orange Enable dealer sales system.
The network system was suspended last weekend while Orange investigated and the network has re-issued store codes and passwords. Some independents are still experiencing problems connecting handset via Orange Enable.
I guess the big question is: 'Will dealers be compensated for there lose of sales?'
It is believed the hackers were trying to steal commercially sensitive information in a bid to target other independent dealers' customer bases.
An Orange spokeswoman said: 'We recently became aware that a third party was trying to access our sales system which some of our sales channels use to register new customers and upgrade existing ones.' The system stores customer details, including name, mobile number and customers' upgrade eligibility.
The attack is believed to have been designed to harvest the names and phone numbers of potential customers in a bid to target them, but Mobile understands there is no danger of any customers' banking details being exposed.
Dealers were told to contact Orange connections for upgrades and connections until the problem was resolved. They also needed to supply the customers' details and handset information when calling the network.
According to dealers, the suspension caused problems over the weekend. 'People were waiting 30 to 35 minutes to get through on the connections line,' said one salesperson.
