Security News > 2022 > October > Optus Hack Exposes Data of Nearly 2.1 Million Australian Telecom Customers

Australian telecom giant Optus on Monday confirmed that nearly 2.1 million of its current and former customers suffered a leak of their personal information and at least one form of identification number as a result of a data breach late last month.

"Approximately 1.2 million customers have had at least one number from a current and valid form of identification, and personal information, compromised," Singtel said in an announcement made on its website.

It further emphasized that the exposed data did not contain valid or current document ID numbers for some 7.7 million customers.

The leaked data is said to contain email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of births, necessitating that customers remain cautious about potential phishing and smishing attacks.

Of the 9.8 million customer records exposed, 14,900 valid Medicare IDs and 22,000 expired Medicare card numbers are estimated to have been exposed, Optus previously disclosed on September 28.

The attacker, using the alias "Optusdata," subsequently published a published a small sample of the stolen data belonging to 10,200 users and demanded that Optus pay a $1 million ransom to avoid more leaks.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/10/optus-hack-exposes-data-of-nearly-21.html