Shares in Hong Kong toy maker VTech halted after customer data stolen

HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Shares of electronic toy maker VTech Holdings Ltd were suspended from trade on Monday after customer data was stolen in a cyber attack, sparking concern over the loss of information relating to children.

The hacked data included information about customers who access a portal for downloading children's games, books and other educational content, Hong Kong-based Vtech said.

The news site Motherboard reported that data belonging to some 4.8 million parents and more than 200,000 children was taken. It said that included names, email addresses, passwords and home addresses of parents; as well as first names, genders and birthdays of children. (http://bit.ly/1kYba7r)

The site said it had spoken to a hacker who claimed to be behind the attack, who said he planned to do "nothing" with the data. Motherboard's claims could not be independently confirmed.

VTech, which sells children's tablets, electronic learning toys and baby monitors, said the targeted database did not include payment information, credit card information, Social Security numbers or drivers license numbers.

It did not say how many records were stolen.

Vtech said it has taken steps to prevent further attacks but did not provide details.

Vtech's stock has fallen 22 percent this year, giving the company a market value of HK$21.9 billion ($2.8 billion). Trade in other Vtech securities has also been suspended, the company said.

($1 = 7.7502 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Edwina Gibbs)