Shares in Hong Kong toy maker VTech halted after customer data stolen

VTech Holdings

30/11/2015 02:38

HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Shares of electronic toy maker 
VTech Holdings Ltd  0303.HK  were suspended from trade on Monday 
after customer data was stolen in a cyber attack, sparking 
concern over the loss of information relating to children. 
    The hacked data included information about customers who 
access a portal for downloading children's games, books and 
other educational content, Hong Kong-based Vtech 
said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13N00Y 
    The news site Motherboard reported that data belonging to 
some 4.8 million parents and more than 200,000 children was 
taken. It said that included names, email addresses, passwords 
and home addresses of parents; as well as first names, genders 
and birthdays of children. (http://bit.ly/1kYba7r) 
    The site said it had spoken to a hacker who claimed to be 
behind the attack, who said he planned to do "nothing" with the 
data. Motherboard's claims could not be independently confirmed. 
    VTech, which sells children's tablets, electronic learning 
toys and baby monitors, said the targeted database did not 
include payment information, credit card information, Social 
Security numbers or drivers license numbers. 
    It did not say how many records were stolen.  
    Vtech said it has taken steps to prevent further attacks but 
did not provide details. 
    Vtech's stock has fallen 22 percent this year, giving the 
company a market value of HK$21.9 billion ($2.8 billion). Trade 
in other Vtech securities has also been suspended, the company 
said. 
     
($1 = 7.7502 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and 
Edwina Gibbs) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6470; Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: VTECH CYBERATTACK/