Passports and license numbers stolen in Australia
[객원 에디터 5기 / 민찬홍 기자] On March 16th, 2023, Latitude Holdings—the online payment and lending firm based in Australia—shockingly reported the theft of approximately 7.9 million driver license numbers in Australia and New Zealand. Effectively called a “distressing development”, around 53 thousand passport numbers and 100 monthly financial statements were stolen in the cyberattack. It was later found out that the attacker had obtained Latitude employee login credentials, allowing for a further 6.1 million records of customer and business documentations to be stolen, some dating all the way back to 2005.
The culprits continue to remain unidentified, and the data breach is considered to be one of Australia’s biggest cases of data thefts, following closely behind a similar theft on a Singapore Telecommunications Ltd-Owned and medical insurer Medibank Private Ltd that reported approximately 10 million compromised customer accounts. Last year, Australia’s biggest companies reported similar data breaches that prompted the government to take action. In response to the cyberattack, the firm stated that it will compensate customers who choose to replace their stolen ID document. Furthermore, the Australian government has decided to increase penalties and their severity for companies that fail to protect consumer data as part of a new batch of consumer protection policies.
“It is hugely disappointing that such a significant number of additional customers and applicants have been affected by this incident,” stated Latitude’s chief executive Ahmed Fahour. Latitude’s stock depreciated 2.5% since the incident was first publicly reported. Currently, the company is coordinating with the Australian government to investigate the attack. There is rising public discourse over whether Australian companies should continue to preserve old consumer records in their systems. As consumer distrust with corporations rise in the aftermath of this attack, the Australian government will be implementing stricter policies in hopes of maintaining a healthy and vibrant domestic corporate environment.
Sources: CNN, The Guardian, Reuters
