Vodafone Portugal Attacked By Hackers, 4G Network Temporarily Inactive

Vodafone Portugal is facing a hacker attack that shuts down its 4G network. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Vodafone's unit in Portugal said on Tuesday, February 8, it had suffered a hacker attack that had disrupted its services. However they assure their customers that their personal data is not compromised as a result of the incident. The attack is also being investigated.

Vodafone Portugal said in a statement that its system encountered technical problems on Monday evening, while thousands of customers reported that they were unable to make calls or access the internet on their phones or computers.

Next the technicians discovered a technical problem caused by what was described as a "deliberate and malicious" cyber attack.

"There is no evidence that customer data has been accessed or compromised," a Vodafone spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters. "The in-depth investigation into the criminal offense ... will continue indefinitely, with the involvement of the authorities."

The attack on Vodafone came a month after the website of one of Portugal's biggest newspapers and one of its main broadcasters was hacked. Both media organizations remain unable to access their websites.

Vodafone Portugal said it was "determined to restore normalcy of service" and mobile usage was gradually recovering. However 4G Network remains unavailable as of now, but customers in most countries can use 3G.