Optus hacking victims launch action against telco
Rachael Ward |
OPTUS HACKING VICTIMS LAUNCH LEGAL ACTION
THE LATEST
* Law firm Slater and Gordon launched legal action in the Federal Court on behalf of Optus customers who had their personal details leaked in a cyber attack
* More than 100,000 current and former Optus customers have registered for the class action
* They are seeking compensation for losses including money spent replacing documents, protecting their identities and time. They are also claiming non-economic losses including distress and frustration
* The statement of claim accuses the telco of breaching consumer, telecommunication and privacy laws, as well as internal policies
* Optus is also accused of breaching its duty of care and contractual obligations to ensure customers did not face harm
* Optus says it will “vigorously defend” itself against the class action
VICTIMS TAKING PART
* The lead applicant is a Victorian man and the second lead applicant is a Queensland woman. They do not want their names made public over fears it would make them even more vulnerable to privacy and data risks
* The law firm says many vulnerable victims were impacted and has caused ongoing issues for them
* Victims include a retired police officer who fears criminals he investigated and helped incarcerate could now have his home address, a stalking victim who worries her life is now in danger and a domestic violence victim who had to spend money intended for counselling on home security measures
THE EXTENT OF THE BREACH
* In September 2022 Optus revealed the personal data of 9.8 million could have been compromised
* Data stolen includes names, addresses and contact details. Some customers also had identity documents such as Medicare cards, passport numbers and drivers licence details stolen
* The criminals demanded a $1 million ransom which Optus declined to pay. Hackers leaked documents from 10,200 customers in September 2022.
* In March 2023 chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said no customer had reported suffering financial loss or falling victim to a crime through misuse of the data
* The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Australia’s media watchdog and other agencies are probing the breach
* The Optus attack was the first major incident in a cluster of data breaches in Australia
QUOTES
* “It feels like only a matter of time before I get scammed or defrauded, which is a constant worry that I didn’t have before I was let down by Optus. I would have thought that as big a company as Optus is, there would have much better data security in place than what it turns out they had, which is pretty concerning” – lead applicant, name withheld
* “I spent a lot of time changing passwords to all of my accounts, have been constantly checking that money hasn’t been stolen, and making sure I’ve done everything I can to protect myself. One of the worst aspects of all this was the fact that I had no control over what had happened, so it’s been pretty overwhelming” – second lead applicant, name withheld
* “The data breach has also potentially jeopardised the safety of a large number of particularly vulnerable groups of Optus customers, such as victims of domestic violence, stalking and other crimes, as well as those working in frontline occupations including the defence force and policing” – Slater and Gordon Class Actions Practice Group Leader Ben Hardwick
* “As indicated previously, Optus will vigorously defend any such proceedings” – statement from Optus released on Friday
AAP
