A TalkTalk executive has moved to reassure customers that they will not have been affected by the data protection breach at ACS:Law.

Names and addresses of more than 8,000 UK broadband users were posted online as a result of the issue, but executive director of strategy and regulation at the TalkTalk Group Andrew Heaney stressed that its subscribers were not among them.

Mr Heaney said the news is a "stark reminder" of the problems that can be caused by attempting to combat filesharing by handing out customer details to third parties.

Although he pointed out that the home broadband provider does not condone filesharing, the TalkTalk representative insisted better ways of tackling copyright theft must be found.

"Handing over customer details to law firms to seek 'compensation' based on accusations from rightsholders is not the answer," he asserted.

Earlier this month, Mr Heaney branded the government's plans to make internet service providers pay towards the cost of contacting people suspected of illegal filesharing as "absolutely outrageous".

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01st October 2010

Anyone who has a broadband internet account in the UK and who fails to switch to TalkTalk/AOL/CarphoneWarehouse or Virgin *right now* are simply exposing themselves to a random £500 bill which they cannot defend against due to the co-conspiratorial ISPs. Ideally I would like you to switch suppliers and send me the £500. Otherwise simply switch and sleep a bit better. The remaining profit-mongering ISPs who simply sold customer information to a con-artist deserve their inevitable fate.