Class action lawsuit launched against Optus after devastating hack

A class action lawsuit has been lodged against telco giant Optus after a devastating cyberattack last year exposed the personal details of millions of Australians.

Law firm Slater and Gordon has lodged a statement of claim in the Federal Court accusing Optus of breaching privacy, telecommunication and consumer laws and failing to protect its customers’ data.

Slater and Gordon class actions practice group leader Ben Hardwick said more than 100,000 current and former Optus customers had registered for the class action so far.

“Very real risks were created by the disclosure of this private information that Optus customers had every right to believe was securely protected by their telecommunications and internet provider,” Hardwick said.

“The type of information made accessible put affected customers at a higher risk of being scammed and having their identities stolen, and Optus should have had adequate measures in place to prevent that.

“Concerningly, the data breach has also potentially jeopardised the safety of a large number of particularly vulnerable groups of Optus customers, such as victims of domestic violence, stalking and other crimes, as well as those working in frontline occupations including the defence force and policing.”

In September last year, Optus announced the personal information for almost 10 million of its current and former customers had been compromised. For a smaller portion of customers, driver’s licence numbers, physical addresses and other identification documents were accessed.

The personal information of more than 10,000 customers was later published online when ransom demands were made.