Hackers hit millions of Australian telecoms customers

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Hackers hit millions of Australian telecoms customers

Australian Number 2 telecom company Optus has suffered a major data breach that has affected millions of customers, according to a report from The Australian newspaper. Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, said that hackers stole personal details of up to 10 million customers in a sophisticated hack, but added that no corporate clients were compromised.

The company spokeswoman said they could not confirm a number at this time, and the investigation will be conducted to determine the scope of the incident. We have gone out to all of our customers early even though we know not all of them have been impacted. We really do think it gives customers a better chance, but it unfortunately means we don't have all the answers, Optus said.

The company said the data breach may have led to unauthorized access to customers' personal data, including customers' names, dates of birth, phone numbers, and email addresses.

The company said that a subset of customers may have had addresses exposed to the data breach, including ID document numbers, such as driver's licenses or passport numbers. The payment information and account passwords haven't been compromised, he said.

Kelly Bayer, CEO, said the company was devastated to have been subject to the cyberattack. As soon as we knew, we took action to block the attack and began an immediate investigation. She said that while not everyone may be affected and our investigation is not yet complete, we want to make sure that all of our customers are aware of what has happened as soon as possible so that they can increase their vigilance.

We understand that customers will be concerned. We are working hard to help protect our customers as much as possible, and that is why we are engaged with all the relevant authorities and organizations. Optus is working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre to assess and mitigate risks. The company has notified the Australian Federal Police, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, and key regulators.

Bayer said that key financial institutions have been notified by Optus about this matter. We encourage customers to be aware of any suspicious activity and suspicious activity even though we are not aware of any of their customers' injuries. Data breach incidents have increased in the past few months. Two days ago, Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive Software was hacked as hackers targeted 2 K Games Support and urged users to download malware. Take-Two said that a hacker had gained access to the help desk platform of its unit 2 K Games and sent a malicious link to certain customers.

The cost of a data breach is going to skyrocket. According to a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, data breaches cost American companies more than $8 million per incident, with big breaches of more than 50 million records costing $388 million.

Many of the biggest breaches are the result of a shift in how the economy is operated. Data is no longer stored in electronic fortresses as companies have embraced the cloud. Cloud misconfigurations have cost enterprises nearly $5 trillion, as we reported a year ago.