TalkTalk’s value falls by £669m in a week

TalkTalk said that complete credit card details were not stored in its system and that passwords were not accessed

£669m, or nearly 25 per cent, has been wiped off the value of the TalkTalk in a week (Reuters)

Shares in TalkTalk slumped 12 per cent yesterday amid fears that the telecoms group will face a massive compensation bill following its cyber-attack last week.

The company is also facing scrutiny from MPs, with Jesse Norman, the chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, saying yesterday that the committee would be looking closely at the TalkTalk case. Some 4 million customer accounts were compromised in the security breach on 21 October.

However, company insiders noted yesterday that fewer customers were affected than was than first anticipated.

TalkTalk also said that complete credit card details were not stored in its system and that account passwords were not accessed.

“We now expect the amount of financial information that may have been accessed to be materially lower than initially believed and would on its own not enable a criminal to take money from your account,” the company said.

Shares in TalkTalk were at 295p as recently as last Monday but dropped 31.5p to 225.3p yesterday, meaning £669m, or nearly 25 per cent, has been wiped off the value of the company in a week.

Despite fears that affected customers would be in line for compensation of £1,000 each, TalkTalk said any payouts would be based on individual merits.

Dido Harding, the chief executive, has drafted in cyber-experts from BAE Systems to investigate the hack. However, the odds on her stepping down before the end of the year were cut from 11/4 to 5/2 by William Hill yesterday.

Last night, the company said it was “grateful for the swift response and hard work of the police” as it emerged that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the hack.