Security News > 2022 > October > Australian Federal Police arrest man suspected of exploiting Optus cyberattack

Aussie police have cuffed a 19-year-old Sydney resident accused of trying to extort money from victims of the recent cyberattack and digital burglary at national telecommunications provider Optus.

The Australian Federal Police said today it was alerted to the blackmail attempt when some Optus customers were told to transfer AU$2,000 to a bank account or have their personal data used for financial crimes.

So far it looks as if not one Optus customer targeted by the alleged Sydney blackmailer gave into his demands and paid up.

Morgan Stanley fined $35m after hard drives sold with customer info still on them.

"Last week, the AFP and our state and territory partners launched Operation Guardian to protect the most vulnerable customers affected by the Optus breach and we were absolutely clear that there would be no tolerance for the criminal use of this stolen data."

Operation Hurricane, the AFP investigation to unearth the person or persons behind the Optus attack, continues.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/10/06/optus_blackmail_arrest/