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Forum post claims 7.49 million files up for grabs as Texas utility investigates breach

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Texas utility CenterPoint Energy has confirmed that an attacker broke in and stole customer information through one of its internet-facing systems.

The company disclosed the breach in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after a post on a cybercrime forum claimed to offer its customer data.

Houston-based CenterPoint, which serves around 7 million customers, said its electricity and gas services remain operational and undisrupted.

"While the investigation remains ongoing, the company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the company's customers through one of the company's external-facing systems," the filing said.

"The company is continuing to work with third-party experts to determine the scope of customers and personal information affected by the incident and intends to notify affected customers and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.

"The company reported the matter to law enforcement authorities and has notified certain regulatory authorities of the issue."

The person claiming responsibility said they extracted 7.49 million of CenterPoint's files from a poorly secured API.

Among the data allegedly available to download are customer names and details, billing data, move-in dates, driver's license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

The Register has not independently verified the contents of the alleged data dump. When we asked CenterPoint for on the veracity of the claims, it told us: "Our filing speaks for itself."

CenterPoint said it does not believe the incident is reasonably likely to materially affect its financial condition or results of operations.

For operators of critical infrastructure, cyberattacks can lead to far worse outcomes.

Recently, disruptive attacks have been recorded at facilities in Poland and the UK , and more than 100 US water systems were affected by attacks in July.

The US consistently warns the cyber threat facing utility providers from hostile states because successful attacks can disrupt essential services. ®

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