Safaricom-Data-Leak-Exposes-Online-Casino-Player-Data

Safaricom Data Leak Exposes Online Casino Player Data

An alleged data breach involving African telecoms giant Safaricom that might have resulted in the data of 11.5 million Kenyan online casino players being compromised has made its way to Europe. Two lawsuits due to be lodged this week in Paris and London add to the drama surrounding an existing Kenyan lawsuit against Safaricom after an employee stole millions of records and is supposedly trying to extort the company for $3 million.

11.5 Million Players Affected

The case dates back to July, when it was revealed that a Safaricom employee had threatened to expose the names, phone numbers, addresses, and amounts wagered of 11.5 million Kenyan online casino players tied to the provider, leading to one potential victim filing a lawsuit against the company. Benedict Kabugi, who claims he has seen the data haul, is seeking $100,000 in damages for each affected player from Safaricom, who have so far denied that the data has been stolen. Initially, it was thought that the leak only applied to Kenyan nationals, but the European suits show that non-Kenyan nationals have also been affected.

Judge Set to Decide on Evidence

The case is currently moving through the African courts, although the judge is yet to see the evidence that Safaricom was hacked in the first place. Assuming that the hack is genuine, the fact that the data has so far not been leaked suggests that either the company has paid the ransom demand in secret, or the thief is biding his time. If the judge decides that Safaricom has indeed been hacked and that Kabugi has a case, the resulting payout could represent the largest for a data breach-related case in Kenyan history.