A massive hack targets almost 10 million Australians: The company said that a significant attack on the second-largest provider in Australia may have exposed sensitive information on over 10 million of its customers on Friday.
A “sophisticated” adversary, according to Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, was responsible for a breach that gave hackers access to data on as many as 9.8 million people.
Customers’ names, birth dates, phone numbers, and email addresses, as well as some license and passport numbers, were among the information that accessed.
The Singapore-owned company claims that no bank account information or passwords stolen.
Although it is still unclear if the attack carries out by a state-based organization or a criminal gang, Bayer Rosmarin claimed that no ransom demand had made.
She added that police and the Australian government were looking into the matter and that it was too early to rule out any possibilities.
The attackers’ identity and intended use of the material are yet unknown.
Nearly half of all Australians who could have affected were alerted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that they might be in danger of identity theft.
“Optus customers should act immediately to secure all of their accounts, especially their banking and financial ones. Additionally, keep an eye out for any strange activity on your accounts and be wary of any contact from con artists, “warned the watchdog.”