Tag: Optus

Sydney Man Arrested for Blackmailing Optus Data Breach Victims

A 19-year-old man in Sydney has been arrested and could face up to ten years in prison after trying to blackmail dozens of Optus customers whose ID documents were exposed in the recent cyberattack. Australian Federal Police said the man obtained the customer records publicised by the hackers on an online forum following the data…


Optus Updates Data, Says 2.1 Million Australian ID Documents Exposed After Massive Data Breach

Australian telco giant Optus has confirmed that the ID documents of over 2.1 million customers have been exposed following the recent cyberattack. Among those documents are 1.2 million current driver’s licence numbers and an additional 900,000 expired ones. The company also noted that the stolen data did not contain valid or current document ID numbers…


Prime Minister Confirms Optus to Pay for New Passports

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Optus has agreed to cover the costs for replacement passports following a massive data breach. The prime minister confirmed the telco would pay during a press conference following a national cabinet meeting on Friday. “Optus have responded to my request that I made in parliament and that Senator Wong…


Federal Police Launch Special Ops to Protect Victims of Largest Cyber Hack in Australian History

The Australian Federal Police will move to protect 10,000 customers whose valuable data was released online following the largest cybersecurity breach in the country’s history. “Operation Guardian” is part of a series of efforts by law enforcement, business entities, and the government to deal with the data breach of telecommunications giant Optus, which affected up to…


More Red Tape Not the Answer to Optus Data Leak: Business Law Expert

Increasing government bureaucracy is not necessary to mitigate the fallout of the Optus cyberattack, says an Australian business law expert. Australia’s second-largest telecommunication company, on Sept. 22, revealed a user known as “OptusData,” demanded US$1 million for the stolen personal details of 9.8 million Optus customers, including driver’s licence details, passport numbers, home and email addresses,…


Australian Federal Police Investigates Optus Cyberattack as Stolen Data Put on Sale

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have launched an investigation into the massive data breach at the telecommunications giant Optus as the hackers put the personal information of up to 9.8 million Australians on sale. On Sept. 26, the AFP announced it had established Operation Hurricane to track down the culprits behind the cyberattack and prevent…


CyberHacker Releases 10,000 Optus Customer Details, Demands $1 Million Cyber Ransom

The hacker claiming to be behind the cyber attack against Optus has released 10,000 customer records and threatened to leak more if the Australian telecommunication giant refuses to pay them US$1 million in cryptocurrency.   The user known as “OptusData” has stolen the personal records of 9.8 million Australians including details such as driver licence,…


Australian Home Affairs Minister Criticised Telco Giant Optus for Major Data Breach

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has called on Australian telecommunication giant Optus to take responsibility for the recent massive data breach and provide free credit monitoring to millions of customers impacted. She noted that a security breach of this size shouldn’t be expected in a large telco provider and said that it will “result in…


Australian Government to Announce New Cybersecurity Protections Following Optus Data Breach

The Australian government will introduce new measures to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity following a massive cyberattack on phone and internet provider Optus. The data breach, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as a “huge wake-up call,” exposed the personal information of up to 9.8 million Australians, including details such as driver’s licence and passport numbers….


Millions Affected in Massive Data Breach of Australian Telco

The private information of millions of Australians is at risk after major telecommunications firm Optus suffered a cyber attack that breached its firewall. On Sept. 22, Optus confirmed that hackers got access to the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and potentially the driver’s licence, passport numbers, and addresses, of millions of current…