Telstra data breach compromises 132K customers

Reuters reports that Telstra, the largest telecommunications provider in Australia, has been impacted by a database misalignment error that compromised 132,000 customers' information. Exposed customer details, including names, addresses, and phone numbers, are already being removed by Telstra from the Directory Assistance service and online White Pages, according to Telstra Chief Financial Officer Michael Ackland, who insisted that the breach was not caused by any cyber activity. "Protecting our customers privacy is absolutely paramount and this is an unacceptable breach of their trust. We are in the process of contacting every impacted customer to let them know what has occurred," Ackland said. Prior to the latest privacy breach, Telstra had 30,000 current and former employees' data leaked as part of a minor data breach in October. The breach also comes amid Australia's increased urgency in addressing cybersecurity threats following the Optus hack in September, which may have affected up to 10 million individuals.