TalkTalk has said it had received a ransom demand from somebody claiming to be behind the cyber attack on the British broadband company on Wednesday, which involved the possible theft of the details of 4 million customers.

"It is hard for me to give you very much detail, but yes, we have been contacted by, I don't know whether it is an individual or a group, purporting to be the hacker," chief executive Dido Harding told the BBC on Friday.

Ms Noting it was a live criminal investigation, she added: "All I can say is that I had personally received a contact from someone purporting - as I say I don't know whether they are or are not - to be the hacker looking for money."

Asked if the company would pay a ransom, a TalkTalk spokeswoman said the matter was in the hands of police.

Reuters