Broadband News

Thu, 06th Oct 2022

Sydney man charged for allegedly trying to scam Optus breach victims

A 19-year-old Sydney man has been charged with allegedly trying to blackmail Optus customers whose data was leaked onto the internet as proof of a data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Gov to update telco regulations to help protect Optus breach victims

The federal government has announced emergency regulations designed to help banks and agencies protect customers caught up in the Optus data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 02nd Oct 2022

Australian telco sector security sweep comes up clean, so far

A sweep of the Australian telecommunications sector for vulnerabilities or evidence of a coordinated campaign following the Optus breach had not uncovered anything of major concern, cyber security minister Clare O’Neil said Sunday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Services Australia struggles to gauge exposure to Optus data breach

Services Australia is unaware of the extent to which Medicare numbers or other credentials have been exposed in the Optus breach, because the telco hasn’t responded to the agency’s queries.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sat, 01st Oct 2022

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big one?

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big leak, one that has gone generally unmentioned and unnoticed? At least one security professional who has been closely following the incidents at the telco appears to think so.

Source: iTWire

Australian police, banks join forces to monitor leaked Optus dataset

Federal and state authorities have set up a new operation aimed at protecting the identities of 10,200 Optus customers whose details were published to an online forum following a massive data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 30th Sep 2022

All Belong mobile plans now have 5G, but there's a catch

All Belong mobile customers can now get 5G connectivity at no extra cost.

Source: WhistleOut

Telcos, ISPs cautious about CDR

Telecommunications and Internet Service Providers say the government should demonstrate that the Consumer Data Right has delivered benefits for banking and energy consumers, before extending the regime to other industries.

Source: iTnews Australia

Oman-Australia cable lights up

SUB.CO’s Australia-Oman cable is live. The project was first floated by Bevan Slattery in 2019, and was laid from Perth to Oman between July 2021 and April 2022.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG likely to join forces with Optus if Telstra deal fails: ACCC

​Optus and TPG Telecom could be set to team up for their own network-sharing deal if the latter’s with Telstra is unsuccessful, the competition watchdog has said.

Source: ARN

Albanese says Optus has agreed to pay for replacement passports

Optus has agreed to pay for the replacement of passports of users caught up in the data breach that the telco suffered, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

Source: iTWire

ACCC wants ‘further views’ on Telstra, TPG mobile network deal

Australia’s compeitition watchdog the ACCC has released a statement of preliminary views on the authorisation sought by Telstra and TPG for their proposed regional mobile network arrangements.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 29th Sep 2022

Optus breach: Labor pledge to update laws covering security

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the laws governing security have not kept pace with technology, adding that the government would work to update legislation to make it fit for purpose.

Source: iTWire

ACS calls for cyber security reform after Optus breach​

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has backed up calls from the federal government to reform current privacy and cyber security laws following the breach of over 9 million Optus customer records.

Source: ARN

iseek enters SA with multimillion YourDC acquisition

Brisbane-based iseek has expanded its reach into South Australia with the acquisition of data centre operator YourDC.

Source: ARN

Tue, 27th Sep 2022

An alleged hacker has offered their 'deepest apologies' to Optus. Here's the latest on the data breach

What we know after a forum user claiming to have the details of Optus customers threatened to release 10,000 records unless a ransom is paid, only to then claim "we don't care anymore".

Source: ABC News

How to protect yourself from inevitable Optus-style hacks

Whether you’ve been affected by the latest breach or not, there are still some things you should know to keep yourself, your accounts and your credit as safe as you can.

Source: SMH

NSW gov to help reissue driver's licences after Optus breach

The NSW state government has changed its stance on re-issuing identity documents in the wake of the huge Optus data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG Telecom to shut 3G network in December 2023

TPG Telecom will shut down its 3G network in December 2023.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG Telecom confirms 3G switch off date

TPG Telecom has confirmed a switch off date of 15 December 2023 for all its 3G mobile network services, providing time for customers to prepare for the move to faster 4G and 5G mobile services.

Source: ARN

Optus offering free credit monitoring to "most affected" customers

Some Optus customers impacted by the breach will get free credit monitoring.

Source: WhistleOut

Cold feet? Optus attacker changes tack, says all data deleted

The attacker who allegedly breached the networks of Optus appears to have developed cold feet, posting a note saying that he/she has deleted all the data that was exfiltrated.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 26th Sep 2022

Optus notifies customers about data breach impact

Telecommunications company Optus contacted its customers over the weekend that it notified them of the impact of the previous cyberattack last week that may have compromised their personal details.

Source: iTWire

Optus attacker exposes data of 10k, threatens to reveal more

The individual who claims to have breached Optus has released 10,000 address records and says a similar number will be made public each day for the next four days.

Source: iTWire

Optus faces potential class action over data breach

Law firm Slater and Gordon is investigating a potential class action case against Optus for its data breach that could affect up to 9.8 million current and former customers in the “worst case scenario”.

Source: ARN

Superloop to acquire VostroNet for $35m

Superloop is set to acquire fibre and wi-fi network provider VostroNet, in a cash-and-shares deal worth $35 million.

Source: iTnews Australia

Data breach puts heat on new Optus infosec team

Optus’ massive data breach is providing a live test of a structure the carrier put in place last year in preparation for critical infrastructure laws.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 25th Sep 2022

Optus suffers massive data breach putting millions at risk

Telecommunications company Optus has informed the public that its current and former data was accessed following a cyberattack on its systems, and sensitive information such as dates of birth, email addresses, and passport numbers may have been impacted in the security incident.

Source: iTWire

Sat, 24th Sep 2022

Optus $US1 million ransom threat investigated

The hackers claim to have personal information on millions of Australians, although the authenticity of their assertion has not been established.

Source: SMH

Second lot of Optus data advertised for sale on Web forum

A second lot of data claimed to be from Optus has been advertised for sale on a Web forum, with 100 sample records being linked to as proof that it is genuine.

Source: iTWire