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☆ Optus parent SingTel denies software upgrade as root cause for outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI), the parent of Australian telecoms provider Optus, said on Thursday its planned software update was not the root cause for an outage last week, contradicting Optus' claims earlier this week. Optus had earlier in the week said an initial investigation found the company's network was affected by "changes to routing information from an international peering network" after a "routine software upgrade". SingTel, while confirming that Singtel Internet Exchange (STiX) is one of Optus' international networks that connects to the global internet, denied that the routine software upgrade was the root cause. "We are aware that Optus experienced a network outage after the upgrade when a significant increase in addresses being propagated through their network triggered preset failsafes," SingTel said. SingTel's statement comes a day before Optus CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin faces an Australian senate inquiry into the massive outage.

Persons: SingTel, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Sameer Manekar, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, Optus, Singapore Telecommunications, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

SYDNEY, March 8 (Reuters) - One of Australia's top government bureaucrats on Wednesday demanded Russia crack down on the large number of cyber criminals operating in the country, saying their actions posed a threat to national security. The comments come as Canberra reforms its cybersecurity policy following a raft of cyber attacks on some of the country's largest companies. "The greatest density of cyber criminals, particularly those with ransomware, are in Russia," Michael Pezzullo, Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, told the AFR Business Summit in Sydney. The move follows a rise in cyber attacks since late last year with breaches reported by at least eight companies, including health insurer Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) and telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI). The United States and Britain sanctioned several Russians accused of cyber attacks last month, saying ransomware attacks have paralysed businesses, schools and hospitals.

☆ Australia plans to reform cyber security rules, set up agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Australia plans to overhaul its cyber security rules and set up an agency to oversee government investment in the field and help coordinate responses to hacker attacks, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil told public radio on Monday. Current cyber security rules are not adequate to deal with attacks and cannot protect consumer data, O'Neil told ABC Radio, blaming the previous government for implementing them. She said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet industry leaders and cyber security experts on Monday, and that he has decided to appoint a cyber security coordinator tasked with ensuring government agencies work together during cyber incidents. The office of the cyber security coordinator will exist within the department of home affairs, she said. The government has published a discussion paper on a new cyber security strategy, which it aims to implement next year, and is seeking feedback on how businesses can improve their cyber security in partnership with the government.

☆ Australia's Telstra suffers privacy breach, 132,000 customers impacted
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Australia's largest telecoms firm Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS.AX) said on Sunday that 132,000 customers were impacted by an internal error that led to disclosure of customer details. The errant disclosure comes after the company in October suffered what it called a small data breach, attributing it to third-party intrusion that exposed some employee data back to 2017. A Telstra internal staff email put the number of affected current and former employees of that breach at 30,000, according to local media. "Protecting our customers’ privacy is absolutely paramount and this is an unacceptable breach of their trust," he added. "We are in the process of contacting every impacted customer to let them know what has occurred."

☆ Australia sees spike in cyber attacks from criminals and states
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Cyber attacks against Australia from criminals and state-sponsored groups jumped last financial year, with a government report released on Friday equating the assault to one attack every seven minutes. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received 76,000 cybercrime reports last financial year, up 13% from the previous period, according to its latest annual cyber threat report. The ACSC, part of the intelligence-collecting Signals Directorate, reported 95 cyber incidents impacting critical infrastructure last fiscal year. Business losses attributable to cyber crime rose on average 14% over the period, with the average crime costing a small business A$39,000 ($24,540). The jump in attacks and damages is making insurers wary and premiums in Australia jumped 56% year-on-year in the second quarter, according to Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc (MMC.N).

[1/2] A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. This week 37 countries, including Australia, will meet at the White House with the goal of tackling ransomware and other cyber crime. Australian cybersecurity insurance premiums rose by an average of 56% year-on-year in the second quarter, said insurer Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc (MMC.N). The average Australian cybersecurity base salary is A$105,000, according to jobs website Glassdoor. Neil Curtis, an Australian cybersecurity executive of U.S. technology contractor DXC Technology Co (DXC.N), who runs a programme retraining military veterans in cybersecurity, said he had requests for about 300 trained personnel in the next six months.

☆ Ransomware hackers hit Australian defence communications platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Hackers have targeted a communications platform used by Australian military personnel and defence staff with a ransomware attack, authorities said on Monday, as the country battles a recent spike in cyberattacks across businesses. "I want to stress that this isn't an attack or a breach on defence (technology) systems and entities," Thistlethwaite told ABC Radio. "At this stage, there is no evidence that the data set has been breached, that's the data that this company holds on behalf of defence". Thistlethwaite said the government will view the incident "very seriously" and all defence personnel have been notified, with suggestions to consider changing their passwords. A Defence department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement the department was examining the contents of the impacted data set and what personal information it contained.

☆ Australia pathology data stolen as hacking epidemic widens
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - One of Australia's largest pathology providers said hackers stole medical data of thousands of patients, the country's second such breach in two weeks, deepening fears about how companies collect sensitive customer information. 1 health insurer Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) said criminals took data of all 4 million of its customers. [ read more read moreACL said it first knew of unauthorised access to the IT system of its pathology unit, Medlab, in February and received advice that no information was compromised. 1 grocery chain Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW.AX) then revealed that the data of millions of customers using its bargain shopping website had been compromised. Australia has said it plans to fine companies up to A$50 million ($32 million) for failing to prevent data breaches, but Christie said damages awarded for thefts of medical data were typically higher than for other personal data because of non-economic harm like mental health repercussions.

☆ Australia's No. 1 health insurer says hacker stole patient details
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest health insurer said on Thursday a criminal had apparently stolen customers' medical information as part of a massive breach of data, fuelling concern about a wave of high-profile cyber attacks. The company did not say how many of its 4 million customers were likely to have been affected but warned the number was likely to rise. 2 telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI), revealed a month ago that data of up to 10 million customers may have been stolen. read moreUntil now, most public commentary has focused on the risk that hackers would use stolen data to access bank accounts. Larger Optus rival Telstra Corp Ltd (TLS.AX) has disclosed a small breach of employee data, while No.

☆ Two Australian regulators open investigations into Optus after data breach
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Two Australian regulators said on Tuesday they have opened investigations into Optus, the country's No. 2 telecoms provider, after a breach of its systems resulted in the theft of personal data from up to 10 million accounts. The agency added that it finds there was a breach of Australian privacy law, it can seek civil penalties of up to A$2.2 million ($1.4 million) per contravention. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told a parliamentary hearing the regulator was receiving 600 calls a day from people concerned about the Optus breach, although few had been scammed as a result. ($1 = 1.5881 Australian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Singtel's second unit faces cyber attack weeks after Optus data breach
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI) said on Monday its unit Dialog faced a cyber attack that potentially affected 1,000 current and former employees and fewer than 20 clients, weeks after a massive data breach at another Australian unit - Optus. Singtel said on Monday the attack on Dialog, an Australia-based information technology services consulting firm, was first detected on Sept. 10. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterShares of Singtel were down 1.6%, as at 0315 GMT. The Singapore-based telecom firm assured that Dialog's systems were completely independent of Optus and information technology unit NCS, and that there was no evidence of any link between the incidents of data breaches at Dialog and Optus. ($1 = 1.5733 Australian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia plans privacy rule changes after Optus cyber attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Sydney Energy Forum in Sydney, Australia July 12, 2022. Brook Mitchell/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Australia plans changes to its privacy rules so that banks can be alerted faster following cyber attacks at companies, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, after hackers targeted Australia's second-largest telecommunications firm. The company said the attacker's IP address - the unique identifier of a computer - appeared to move between countries in Europe. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neill said over the weekend more details about the changes would be announced by the government "in the coming days". ($1 = 1.5309 Australian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Lewis Jackson and Renju Jose; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's Optus contacts customers caught in cyber attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File PhotoSept 24 (Reuters) - Australia's number two telecommunications company, Optus, said on Saturday it was contacting customers about a cyberattack that accessed personal details of up to 10 million customers, in one of Australia's biggest cybersecurity breaches. Optus has said corporate customers appeared unaffected by the "sophisticated" hack, which it initially informed customers about on Thursday. The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday reported Optus was probing a threat to sell millions of customers’ personal information online unless the company paid $1 million in cryptocurrency to the hackers. Optus said as the attack was under police investigation it "cannot comment on certain aspects of the incident".

☆ Cyberattack on Optus Potentially Exposes Millions of Customer Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Alice Uribe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Optus said it doesn’t yet know who was behind the cyberattack. SYDNEY—A cyberattack on one of Australia’s largest telecoms companies could have accessed the personal information of as many as 9.8 million customers, in what one lawmaker called the most significant data breach in recent years. Optus, an Australian unit of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., said it doesn’t yet know who was behind the cyberattack that could have exposed customer information dating back to 2017, including names, dates of birth and phone numbers. The company, which said it first became aware of the breach on Wednesday, said some identity documents might also have been compromised.

☆ Australia's Optus says up to 10 mln customers caught in cyber attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. 2 telco Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI), said it will contact up to 10 million customers whose personal details were taken in a "sophisticated" hack, but added no corporate clients were compromised. As many as 9.8 million accounts may be compromised, equivalent to 40% of Australia's population, but "that is the absolute worst case scenario (and) we have reason to believe that the number is actually smaller than that", Bayer Rosmarin said. Police and cybersecurity authorities were still investigating the attack which Optus told customers about on Thursday. As a major telco, Optus considered itself a target for cyber attackers and routinely repelled attempts to breach its systems but "this particular one is not similar to anything we've seen before, and unfortunately it was successful", she said.

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