Australia takes Singtel-owned Optus to court over 2022 cyberattack

AUSTRALIA’S media regulator is taking legal action against telecom carrier Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications, over a cyberattack it faced in September 2022, the telecom operator said on Wednesday (May 22).

In September 2022, Australia’s No 2 telco faced a massive data breach which exposed personal information including home addresses, passport numbers and phone numbers of customers.

That cyberattack had then led to the country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese calling to toughen privacy rules to force companies to notify banks faster when they experience similar data breaches.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is alleging that Optus failed to keep personally identifiable information of its customers from unauthorised interference or unauthorised access confidential.

Optus said that it was unable to determine the proportion of penalties which may arise, adding that it would defend the proceedings.