BBC customers deluged by spam after hackers break into mailing list
Names and e-mail addresses on a BBC mailing list were exploited by hackers to send "spam", or unwanted e-mail, offering the anti-impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis. Anyone who replied to the sender could have been targeted with scams or computer viruses.
The failing drags the Corporation into the on-going row over how large organisations store private information about individuals. Last night a senior MP called the incident "very serious" and demanded that the BBC take action to tighten its security.
A spokesman for the Corporation confirmed that members of the public had been affected after their details were hijacked from a list of people who had signed up to receive information about next month's BBC Electric Proms music festival.
