Telstra Chief financial officer and group executive Michael Ackland apologized in a company statement last Friday for an error that led to leaking customer data online.
The details included customers’ names, numbers, and addresses which were accidentally published on white pages and directory assistance services. The company is in the process of contacting the impacted individuals to let them know about the mishap.
According to the official blog published on December 9, Ackland stated that details of ‘some’ unlisted customers were posted incorrectly due to a misalignment of databases. A report published by Wionews stated that the number of affected customers is estimated to be around 132,000.
It further stated that about 30,000 of the company’s past and current staff were impacted by the incident. However, Telstra assured its customers that the incident was not part of a cyberattack. Telstra has nearly 75% of Australia’s population subscribed to it, with over 18 million customers.
What Telstra is doing now?
The company removed the customers’ data soon after they became aware of their details being released on the online version of the white pages.
They are also contacting the impacted customers and offering free support through IDCARE which is also offering help to the victims of the Optus and Medibank data breaches.
IDCARE is the national identity and cyber support service provider to individuals and organizations in Australia and New Zealand.
In another tweet, the company relayed that it is aware that the action taken is not enough and that every care is being taken to make things right.
Several individuals have been tweeting and asking if they have been impacted by the data leak and seeking help. In the wake of the recent rise in data leaks due to cyberattacks, Australians have been worried about their safety.
A tweet read, “Oh hey there, How many customers are affected, and how (aside from a significant rise in scam and spam calls) can a customer know if they were in your misaligned database?”
One of Australia’s largest telecommunications networks, Telstra group is making every effort to offer support and respond to customers. The company is investigating to make sure no cybercriminals get the better of the incident. The information could get exfiltrated and sold online for further misuse.
The company concluded the blog post by apologizing. “We’re sorry for breaching your trust… We’re sorry it occurred, and we know we have let you down.”
