Australia’s second largest telecommunications provider, Optus, revealed it suffered a cyberattack where data from customers have possibly been accessed. However, the company claims the attack has not affected the platforms and services supporting wholesale, satellite and enterprise customers, and that of enterprise customers. Mobile and home internet services have also not been affected.
Suspicious activity was noticed on Wednesday with Optus issuing a media statement on Thursday afternoon, which was a nation-wide public holiday.
What Optus knows about the breach
The 9.8 million number of “possibly” affected customers circulating is the worst-case scenario, said Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin at a media conference on Friday. That is the equivalent to about 37% of the Australian population. In its most recent financial report, Optus revealed it had over 10 million mobile customers as of 31 March 2022.