SINGTEL’S Australian unit Optus Mobile has reiterated its intention to defend proceedings filed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) against it over a 2022 cyberattack.
On Friday (Jun 14), Optus said it was aware of only about 10,200 customers having had their personal information published on the Internet as a result of the cyberattack.
ACMA had charged that there were 3.6 million breaches of the Australian Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.
Optus said that at this stage, it was unable to determine the quantum of penalties, if any, that could arise from the Australian media watchdog’s move.
“That is ultimately a matter for the Federal Court to determine,” said the second-largest telecommunications company in Australia.
“If a contravention is found, the court will consider a number of factors and apply a penalty amount it determines overall as appropriate, based on the events that occurred. It is not necessarily a direct calculation based on the number of contraventions.”
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Optus added that it has taken “significant steps”, including working with the police and other authorities, to mitigate the potential harm to its customers affected by the 2022 cyberattack.
The telco previously announced on May 22 that ACMA had filed proceedings relating to the cyberattack on the basis of its failure to protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information of its customers from unauthorised interference, or unauthorised access.
Optus also said then that it intended to defend these proceedings.
In March, the Singtel unit was fined A$1.5 million (S$1.3 million) by ACMA for breaching public-safety rules through its failure to upload data via its outsourced supplier, Prvidr, to the Integrated Public Number Database.
Shares of Singtel were trading S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent higher at S$2.57 on a cum-dividend basis as at 9.27 am on Friday, after the news.
