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In one of Australia’s largest confirmed data breaches, Latitude Group Holdings Ltd, an Australian consumer finance firm, reported that hackers stole nearly 8 million driver’s license numbers from citizens in both Australia and New Zealand.
In an upsetting event, a cyber thief acquired approximately 53,000 passport numbers and over 6 million customer records from the supplier of credit cards and individual loans for numerous prominent companies in Australia. Most of these documents were collected between 2005 and 2013.
Recently released information revealed that the attack on Latitude, which had initially caused a temporary standstill in its operations, was more widespread than previously thought. In their statement from March 16th, company officials claimed the hackers had only stolen 103,000 licenses. It has since been discovered this figure is significantly higher.
This incident has become one of the country’s most severe data breaches, trailing only Optus and Medibank Private Ltd in magnitude. Both these companies had disclosed that around 10 million accounts were hacked during a cyber-attack at the end of last year.
As Optus initiated a series of data breaches, the Australian government tightened its cyber security plan by imposing stringent sanctions on companies that do not properly safeguard customer information. Australia is still in the process of revamping its national strategy to enhance cyber protection efforts.
“This episode highlights the continuous threat of cyber attacks. It underscores the importance of strengthening Australia’s cyber security and privacy measures,” said Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil.
Moreover, she mentioned Latitude was working diligently with the appropriate officials to manage the repercussions of this attack.
As investors feared the extent of Latitude’s risk was greater than anticipated, shares of the company dropped 2.5% despite a static overall market trend.
In a statement, Latitude asserted that their insurance covers cyber-security risks.
“We are currently working on fixing the platforms that were affected by the attack and have also added extra security measures to ensure better protection as we resume operations in the coming days,” CEO Ahmed Fahour said.
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