The personal data of nearly ten million Australian subscribers to a telecommunications operator may have been compromised by a massive hack of the country's second largest access provider, the company revealed on Friday.
Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the cyberattack was the work of "
experienced
" people and had accessed the information of 9.8 million users, in a country that approximately 25 million inhabitants in 2021.
This data includes customers' names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and certain passport and driver's license numbers.
According to the Singapore-based company, no passwords or banking information were hacked.
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The origin of the attack is unclear and no ransom demand has been made, said the director general, adding that she did not know "
what (the hackers) intend to do with this data
".
The hack was discovered this week but it was not specified when it was operated.
Australian authorities have warned Australians who are victims of this hack of possible identity theft.