British mobile software firm 51Degrees admits website hack in urgent notification email

A British firm called 51Degrees that develops mobile software has sent a breach notification email to its website users informing them about a cyberattack that occurred on 8 May. The company, based in Reading, UK, specialises in mobile optimisation and helpsnumerousbig name brands – including Microsoft, T-Mobile, Unilever and eBay – to create a smooth web experience across mobile, desktop and tablets. It claims that its software is used by over 1.5 million websites across the globe.

In a message to customers, James Rosewell, founder and chief executive of the firm, said: "It has come to our attention that the 51degrees.com website was the victim of a cyberattack between 5:21am and 5:40am on Sunday 8 May. We are writing to alert you of this incident as a precautionary measure. We do not believe any personal information, including payment information, email addresses and contact names, have been compromised. To prevent a recurrence of the attack we have closed the exploit used by the attacker."

Rosewell did not elaborate on what this "exploit" was but claimed that security measures on the website have since been bulked up in order to prevent another hacking attempt. He also said the incident has been reported to Action Fraud's cybersecurity division for further investigation.

Rosewell added: "We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and if we believe you are specifically affected, we will be in touch to advise you further."

IBTimes UK contacted the firm for comment but had received no reply at the time of publication. No official notification has been published on the firm's social media channels at the time of writing. However the customer email was found on Twitter.

As is usual in these circumstances, any users signed up to the 51Degrees website are now highly advised to log in and change any stored credentials.