OPTUS HACK - Continues to affect customers

OPTUS HACK

Medibank, the second major Australian company to be hacked after Optus, warned that more customer data, including passport numbers, will be uploaded to the dark web after the first batch of data was released overnight. The data includes names, birthdates, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, health claims information, Medicare numbers for Medibank's ahm customers, and passport numbers for international student clients. The suspected Russian hackers behind the attack on Medibank are expected to face an Australian counteroffensive as authorities work to identify and target the hackers. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neil has announced that the federal government has launched a high-tech policing operation to target the networks of hackers stealing the private information of Australian citizens.

A 19-year-old boy in Sydney, Australia named Dennis Su was caught after sending threatening texts to victims of the Optus hack, demanding they pay him $2,000. Su pleaded guilty to two counts of using equipment connected to a network to commit a serious offense at the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday. He had contacted 92 customers whose phone numbers and personal details were released online by hackers in September, during the largest cyber attack in Australia's history.

Quote from #OPTUS

Optus has advised its customers to change their passwords for online services, including banking, and to set up stronger authentication measures in order to protect themselves from a major cyber security attack. The company has been working to secure the personal information of its millions of customers, as it is believed that hackers may have accessed names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, and addresses.

The question arises as to whether customers of OPTUS need to urgently change all their passwords if the company claims that no customer credentials were exploited. This could potentially create another security risk, as many customers already had remote access through OPTUS to manage their private accounts.

Random tests at OPTUS stores have revealed that staff are leaving the company in large numbers, as OPTUS management is trying to avoid any customer contact. Many stores are now directing customers to go to the Ombudsman and complain. International companies are now investigating the extent to which OPTUS staff are involved in the hack, which has reportedly been ongoing for over 5 years.

We have digital forensic data to post as soon as it is ready to go. Stay Tuned and please comment if you have had issues with #OPTUSHACK