Following a hack, Optus, the Australian division of Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), said it was looking into the possibility of unauthorized access to customer phone numbers, home addresses, and passport numbers.
Wireless provider Optus stated in a statement on Thursday that payment information and account passwords had not been stolen and that the attempt had been stopped right away after being discovered. It claimed to have alerted the Australian Federal Police and to be looking into whether information on both current and previous clients was accessed.
“Optus is working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre to mitigate any risks to customers,” Optus said in the statement on its website.
“We are devastated to discover that we have been subject to a cyberattack that has resulted in the disclosure of our customer’s personal information to someone who shouldn’t see it,” said Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. According to the Australian publication, up to 9 million subscribers may have been impacted. Optus did not immediately react to a request for comment, and Reuters was unable to confirm the figure.
“Optus has also notified key financial institutions about this matter. While we are not aware of customers having suffered any harm, we encourage customers to have heightened awareness across their accounts, including looking out for unusual or fraudulent activity and any notifications which seem odd or suspicious,” the Optus statement added.
