This week, Australian authorities sentenced a Sydney man for attempting to extort money from Optus customers using data stolen during a September 2022 data breach. The breach resulted in the theft of personal information belonging to 9.8 million customers, including names, birth dates, physical and email addresses, and phone numbers. For 2.1 million customers, numbers associated with identification documents were also compromised. The attackers then demanded a $1 million ransom in cryptocurrency, threatening to release more of the stolen information each day until a payment was made. On October 6, the Australian Federal Police arrested the man, now 20, who had sent text messages to more than 90 Optus customers, demanding that they transfer $2,000 AUD to a bank account in the name of the scammer. The individual pleaded guilty on November 8 to two counts of using a telecommunications network with intent to commit a serious offense, which was blackmail. As a result, the man was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order and 100 hours of community service.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Wed, 08 Feb 2023 17:22:03 +0000