Beeline Refutes Rumors, Says Hackers Couldn’t Have Acquired Customers’ Data

The database of Beeline customers’ personal information is not communicated to the outside world through any networks and is inaccessible on the Internet — furthermore, it could not have been disposed to hacker attacks, a company representative told Epress.am today, commenting on local media reports that the databases of mobile communications providers operating in Armenia were hacked.

“As to how hackers acquired that database, Beeline expects to receive that answer from law enforcement bodies,” said Armen Akhiyan, the Beeline representative.

Another telecommunications provider in Armenia, VivaCell-MTS, refused to comment on the matter, while Orange Armenia promised to provide an answer in 2–3 hours.

As reported elsewhere, head of the Fight Against Cybercrime Division of the Armenian Police’s Fight Against Organized Crime General Directorate Samvel Hovsepyan, speaking to local daily Joghovurd (“People” or “Nation”), said that databases of telephone numbers of all three major providers in Armenia — VivaCell-MTS, Orange Armenia and ArmenTel (which supplies the Beeline brand) — had appeared on the open market.

Unknown individuals, hackers, apparently acquired the information and all customers’ personal data is freely being sold, he said. As for how this happened, the General Directorate of the RA Police is attempting to find out through the criminal investigation that has been launched.