Optus $US1 million ransom threat investigated

Optus $US1 million ransom threat investigated

“The AFP is using specialist capability to monitor the dark web and other technologies, and will not hesitate to take action against those who are breaking the law,” the spokeswoman said, citing the 10 years’ jail maximum penalty for buying stolen data online.


The author of the forum post put up a sample of data, claiming it was stolen from Optus. There are some signs that the data is genuine, but it could have been compiled from other sources, such as previous cyberattacks on other companies. Another possibility is that the post is an attempt to con Optus or a criminal group into paying for false information.


The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age spoke to several people, on condition of anonymity, whose data appeared on the sample.


They confirmed that at least some of the information published was accurate, although in one case a person on the list did not think they had previously been an Optus customer.



The information included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, driver’s licence details and even individuals’ preferred pronouns.


Jeremy Kirk, executive editor at Information Security Media Group, a computer security-focused publisher, said he had attempted to check the veracity of one item of data after he saw an address in the sample file that was close to his home in NSW.


“I thought rather than emailing or calling to see if it’s genuine – because a lot of times people don’t answer or reply – I thought it’s a Saturday morning, it’s not raining, it’s nice outside, I’ll go around,” Kirk said.


He said he spoke to a woman at the residence, who requested to remain anonymous, but confirmed she had been an Optus customer until 2018, whi ..

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