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The government announced on Thursday that Australian telecoms firm Optus must cover the cost of restoring the passports and licenses of millions of customers whose personal information was stolen in one of the nation’s worst data breaches. According to Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, Optus’ negligence led to the theft of data from 10 million user accounts, or 40% of Australia’s population. As a result, the Singapore Telecommunications-owned corporation is responsible for the consequences.
According to Jones, who spoke to reporters in Sydney, “Optus is definitely liable for paying for the costs and the repercussions of this for customers, whether it’s the replacement of a license, whether it’s the replacement of a passport or other necessary pieces of ID.” He did not provide a cost estimate in money.
Jones’ comments could not be promptly addressed by an Optus spokesperson. Optus expressed regret for the error and promised to cover the cost of a year’s worth of credit monitoring for the clients who were most negatively impacted.
The remarks highlight the escalating conflict between the Australian government and its second-largest telecom as internet service providers, banks, and government agencies struggle to reduce the possibility of experiencing similar hacks.
In an online chatroom, the owner of an anonymous account demanded $1 million in order to stop selling Optus user data, but afterward withdrew the demand and apologized, blaming increased media attention. The demand was most likely legitimate, according to cybersecurity experts, but Optus and law enforcement officials have not confirmed this.
Passport numbers, license numbers, government health insurance cards, phone numbers, and home addresses were among the stolen data, which prompted lawmakers and observers to call for new identification.
In the meantime, several large online companies declared they were conducting additional cybersecurity checks to lower the possibility of a similar incident.
A representative for No. 3 internet service provider TPG Telecom Ltd, which serves approximately 6 million consumers, said, “In light of the recent Optus incident, we have been working closely with our cybersecurity partners and the necessary government agencies to improve our checks.”
