Bonn, Germany - German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom said Friday it would tighten up data-privacy rules and appoint a seventh board member in charge of corporate compliance and legal issues.

The company moved six days after the revelation that a telephone directory of 17 million customers and their T-Mobile phone numbers had been obtained more than two years ago by a private company.

In Germany, most wireless-line numbers are ex-directory and confidential.

Telekom chief executive Rene Obermann said at the company's head office in Bonn that in future, the company would voluntarily brief the public on a dedicated website about "critical data-privacy incidents" undergoing criminal investigation.

"In the race against data theft, we want to be at least one step ahead at all times," he said.

A seventh board department will be set up to deal with privacy and the company will issue data privacy reports every six months.

Former monopoly Telekom is also to stop using an internet-style system where any computer can be used to query its databanks using the right password. Employees and sales partners will only be able to access sensitive systems from specific computers. (dpa)