Optus were recently involved in a data breach scandal which impacted potentially millions of customers. To current knowledge, it is believed that the attackers were working for a criminal or state sponsored organisation. The data breach had impacted Optus customers as their name, date of birth, phone number, and email addresses, may have been released to the attackers. Unfortunately, it may be worse for some customers as their drivers license or passport numbers may also be in the hands of the criminals behind the act. This is extremely unsafe for these Australians as it puts thousands of people at a high risk of identity theft and urgent action must happen to prevent any harm caused by the incident.
Unfortunately, the exact number of how many people fell victim to the breach is not currently known however, we do know that out of the 9.7 million subscribers Optus had at the time of the incident, there was a significant number of them whose details are now exposed to the attacker. Fortunately, for the customers, despite a variety of personal details possibly being at risk, the payment details and account passwords remain secure and safe to operate during this time.
Identity fraud is a large risk at this stage as only a small amount of personal information is necessary for someone to commit identity fraud, therefore the access that the attacker has to these people’s personal information can put them at high risk of the attacker opening a bank account, gaining a credit card, applying for a passport, or conducting a wide range of illegal activity.
To help prevent this, Optus has claimed that they will contact any customers that they believe are at a high risk of being compromised by sending personal notifications and offering third-party monitoring services. Optus also sent out a message advising customers to not click on any links via SMS messages or emails regarding their information being compromised as Optus has stated they will not be sending out any links and the safest way to contact them is by going through the app or contacting them directly in person or over the phone.
If you or someone you know wish to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.