San Francisco, Apr 18 (IANS): US network infrastructure giant CommScope has faced a ransomware attack where cyber-criminals published thousands of employees' data online.

According to TechCrunch, hackers exposed social security numbers and bank account details of employees of the company which designs and manufactures network infrastructure products.

"It's unclear exactly how many employees have been affected. CommScope employs more than 30,000 people worldwide," the report mentioned.

The listing includes a link to data stolen from the company. Ransomware gangs typically publish stolen data when efforts to secure a financial ransom demand fall through.

The data that was published contains personal data of thousands of CommScope employees, including full names, postal addresses, email addresses, personal numbers, Social Security numbers and bank account information.

"Another folder among the leaked data includes scans of employee passports and visa documentation," the report alleged.

Some of the data was unencrypted and appeared to include both CommScope customer and employee email addresses.

A company spokesperson said it detected "unauthorised access to a portion of our IT infrastructure that we determined was the result of a ransomware incident" on March 27.

"Upon discovery, we immediately launched a forensic investigation with the assistance of a leading cybersecurity firm and reported the matter to law enforcement," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

It is working with third-party experts to validate those claims and "to understand the nature of the information at issue as a top priority".

CommScope, however, declined to comment on how its systems were compromised.